Temperance
by Mage of Hope
Summary: Six years have passed since the Tenrou Island incident, and the current Fairy Tail members are losing hope, when suddenly, a tomboyish Mage and her Exceed join, determined to find out if she's Gray's sister while causing chaos! Join Azure Fullbuster, later known as the Aqua Berserker, fighting for the guild as the Water Dragon Slayer! Takes place 1 year before Tenrou Team returns!
1. Prologue

**I know, I'm sorry for delaying this, but you do have to understand I have schoolwork and all that sort of stuff. It's hard trying to learn how to draw or animate things, since I'm trying to learn. Anyways, here's the first chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs!**

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><p>X790. Six long years has passed since Tenrou Island has been oblitered by the dragon, Acnologia. Since then, the famous Fairy Tail became the weakest guild in the region, with only a few guild members left. In fact, Fairy Tail has become a small tavern. It's a wonder how it managed to survive this long.<p>

The remaining guild members have all changed. First, there was Macao Conbolt. After Makarov seemed to be dead, he took the position of the new Guild Master and wants to be referred as 'Master.' His friend, Wakaba, who's now his advisor, are the same as ever, drinking beer, arguing with each other, and getting jealous of each other.

Bisca and Alzack have gotten married six years ago and had a lovely daughter named Asuka. In fact, they were probably the only couple in Fairy Tail, but they loved every single guild member regardless of their small status.

Max, Warren, Nab, and Vjeeter were kinda still the same. Max was mostly quiet, Nab still hasn't picked out a job since the last six years, Warren and Vjeeter were still...themselves.

Jet and Droy were still friends, though Droy has gotten a lot fatter. Reedus, the painter for the guild, has gotten thinner and more excellent in painting. Laki was still her usual self, except she has become more beautiful, and she, Laki, and Kinana were the only women in Fairy Tail. Four, if you count Asuka.

Finally, there was Romeo, Macao's son. Ever since Natsu and the others were rumored to be dead, he became quiet, and haven't cracked a smile ever since. Also, he believes his father is a coward for doing nothing to defend their guild, despite him not understanding the situation his father is in.

One day, at the guild, everyone was doing what they were usually doing. Macao and Wakaba chatted with each other, Droy was eating food, Bisca and Alzack had gone shopping with their daughter, Asuka, Vjeeter was doing lame, ridiculous dances again, Nab was in front of the Request Board, and everyone else was doing their own thing, except for Romeo, who was gone.

"Anything new?" asked Max, refering to the Request Board.

"Not much today, as usual. Nothing new is going to come in our little guild of ours," sighed Warren.

"Yeah! Look how few jobs we have!" added Nab.

"Says the guy who hasn't taken a job in the last six years!" pointed out Jet.

"Hey, look! I almost finished my new dance!" called Vjeeter, doing some weird movements. "It's called the 'Weird Dance!'"

"Yeah, whatever," said Max, not even paying attention.

"This is bad, really bad," muttered Macao, clutching his head as if he had a headache. "I still don't have enough money to pay for Twilight Ogre."

"What?! You still haven't paid them yet?!" shouted Wakaba.

"Hey, I'm trying, okay? We just need at least a few more members to join the guild! Oh, what's the point? It's not like some mage is just going to barge in, shout out their name, and declare that they want to be a Fairy Tail member!"

**BOOM! **The doors got knocked down, revealing a young boy with dark hair, blue eyes, and he wore a simple trademark cap, baggy pants, a indigo shirt, dark fingerless gloves, black shoes, and a long dark jacket that reached his knees with a collar.

"Hey, I'm Azure Fullbuster and I wanna join Fairy Tail!"

Silence. Nobody in the guild spoke a word, for they were shocked. They never expected THAT to happen.

"...What," said Warren, speaking up at last.

The boy named Azure didn't even seemed fazed by the silence. "I said-"

"No, no, we've got your name," assured Wakaba. "It's just...just hold on a moment, alright?" Quickly, he went to Macao and whispered in his ear, "How did this happen?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Then, what should we do with this kid?"

"Well, since I am Master, I guess we should let this kid join if he wants to-wait a minute." Macao turned to Azure, who was curiously looking around her surroundings like a little kid. "You said your name was...Fullbuster, correct?"

Azure paid attention and saluted happily. "Yup, sir! Azure Fullbuster, at your service!"

"Does that make you related to Gray Fullbuster?"

"Hmm...I'm not really sure," admitted Azure, pondering as she placed a hand under her chin. "I mean, I heard he was a powerful Ice Mage, but I never met him. He's one of the reasons why I decided to join the guild!"

_'No, no it can't be,' _thought Macao, wondering on the situation. _'Because Gray clearly stated that his parents died a long time ago, and that he idn't have any other sibilings. But, I'm pretty sure he's not lying, but maybe it was just a coincidence they have the same last name? Yeah, lots of people have the same last names.' _

While everyone was thinking of the same way, Wakaba asked, "What sort of magic do you use, Azure?"

"Oh! I can use the Water Dragon Slayer Magic! Pretty neat, huh?"

"EEEHHHHH?" Everyone immediantly backed into a corner and started to whisper to each other, making Azure tilt her head in confusion as she can sorta hear their conversation due to her sense of enhanced hearing.

"Another Dragon Slayer!" whispered Laki, excited.

"Just like Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel!" gasped Reedus.

"That's it! We should invite this kid in!" suggested Droy, eating a roasted turkey leg.

"I don't see why not," agreed Jet.

"Hey, are the kid and Gray related?" asked Max. "I mean, they do have the same last name after all."

"No, not possible," said Wakaba. "I mean, Gray did lose his parents when he was a little kid, and he would have mentioned any sibilings."

"Maybe I should read his mind to see if he's a good person," suggested Warren before placing two fingers to the temple of his head, concentrating on Azure's mind.

Azure, in the meantime, was humming a soft tune to himself and scraping the floor lightly with one foot, thinking the lyrics to himself. _'Twinkle, twinkle, little star! How I wonder what you are!~' _

Warren sweatdropped, wondering how a boy his age could still be singing such a lullaby. "...He's clear."

Everyone finally separated from one other to do their other duties as Macao and Wakaba walked up to the humming Azure, who stopped. "Alright, you can join Fairy Tail. We've been itching to get new members for a long time anyways."

"Wait, Macao. You forgot one more thing. The insignia, remember?"

"Oh, right! Kinana? Could you come here?"

"Coming!" An attractive, young lady wearing a light green dress and that has indigo colored hair rushed in, carrying a Magic Stamp Tool. "Hello, my name is Kinana. It's a pleasure to meet you, Azure!"

Azure nodded happily. "You too! You're beautiful, miss Kinana! I wish I could grow up and be beautiful like you!"

_'You're a guy! How is that even possible?!' _wondered some of the males in the guild.

"Can I have the blue stamp on my left hand?" requested Azure, taking off one of his fingerless gloves and presenting his hand to her. Kinana easily stamped Azure's hand with the color he wanted, thus making a official Fairy Tail member.

"Congratulations, you're one of us," said Wakaba, although not too confidently.

"Ah!" Azure snapped his fingers, realizing something. "There's someone else that was supposed to come with me!"

"Another one? I wonder who it is," said Laki out loud.

"Maybe it's a girl!" squealed Droy, excitedly.

"Aha! No, it's not a girl. He's a boy, but-"

"Honestly, Azure? You couldn't have waited for me? Well, this was to be expected, according to my calculations," sighed a voice that came from behind Azure. Everyone turned to see a small light blue cat that wore a Mitre with some sort of church insignia on it, Gale-Force Reading Glasses, a red scarf, a dark blue scarf, and he was carrying a book.

"A cat?!" exclaimed Jet, shocked. "Just like Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily!"

"Don't get me confused with those lot. I am the smartest Exceed of them all," said the Exceed arrogantly. "You may address me as Samuel."

"So now, you guys got two new members," said Azure, grinning as she bent down to pick up her Exceed in her arms. "Oh, and Samuel my partner!"

"It seems like every Dragon Slayer's got a cat partner," muttered Nab.

"Yes, I know," said Samuel, pushing up his glasses. "There's Natsu Dragoneel with Happy, Wendy Marvell with Carla, and finally, Gajeel Redfox with Pantherlily. Trust me, I know these things." He then pointed to Nab. "I know you are Nab Lasaro, a Mage specialized with a type of Seith magic, which is Animal Possession, and you have difficulties picking a job."

"Whoa How do you know that?"

"It's all over the Sorcerer Magazine, and due to my research." Samuel turns to Laki next. "You must be Laki Olietta, who expresses herself in many different, and unusual ways, and you use Wood-Make Magic." Next was Max. "You are Max Alors, a man capable of using Sand Magic."

Azure sighed, knowing this was going to take a while. "Samuel, I think they get it now."

"Very well. Now, can you please put me down, Azure?" After complying, Samuel turned around and lifted up his shirt a little, revealing his back. "Okay, can I have the Fairy Tail insignia at my back? Can it be white too?"

After the preparations were done, Azure raised her hand, gaining the Fairy Tail's master's attention. "Ooh! Ooh! Old Man master! I have a question!"

"Oi! I'm not that old!" cried out Macao, twitching his eye in frustration. "I'm the Master! Master Macao of Fairy Tail!"

"Hmm...okay, Old Man Master!"

"OLD MAN?!"

"So, anyways! How do you get jobs or requests from other people? I can't wait to get started!"

Kinana pointed to the Request Board, where Nab was, and the board was filled with very few requests. "There it is. You can get requests there, but unfortunately, there's only a few of them."

"Cool!" Azure skipped towards the Request Board, took one glance at it, and snatched a request from the board, holding it delicately. "Yay! A request! I choose you!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" said Max. "You just took one look, and you suddenly decided to choose that? Let me see that!"

"Huh? Okay."

After Max was handed the request Azure had chosen, he read it outloud, "'Anyone, there is a small group of very dangerous Vulcans living in the Hollow Caves where most of our food resides. Our village is in danger, and we plead for any help. Reward: 3,000 Jewels.'"

"Wait! Vulcans are really strong!" spoke Laki. "Are you sure you can handle this, Azure?"

"According to my calculations, the Vulcans are fiercesome creatures, but they are no match for me or Azure. There is a 99% of us winning," replied Samuel.

"Yeah! The Water Dragon Slayer and her Exceed will handle this!" replied Azure proudly.

"Wait, 'her?' But you're a guy," reminded Droy.

"Nope! I'm a girl."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...WHAT?!"

"Yup! See? Look!" Azure took off her trademark cap, and her medium-long, dark hair flowed down into her back, not too long, but not too short either. In fact, she looks more attractive and cuter this way, but if she kept the cap on and the hair hidden, anyone would have mistaken her as a girl.

"...That explains so much, and yet so little," said Nab.

"Well, we're going now! Bye!~" sang Azure, snatching the request from Max, placing her hair back onto the cap, and running off with Samuel.

After they were gone, the guild was still stunned that they just discovered a tomboyish, cheerful Dragon Slayer that turned out to be a girl that had no intention on tricking them.

Soon, Bisca and Alzack came back into the guild with their daughter, Asuka. "So, what did we miss?"

And it was another day for Fairy Tail.

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><p><strong> And with that, I'm done! Please read and review! Hope I did good!<strong>


	2. Monster Hunting

**The newest chapter of Fairy Tail! Since you were all kind to me, I decided to reward you with a new chapter, though the new one after this will take a while.**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs!**

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><p>It's been a few days since Azure and Samuel joined Fairy Tail, and already, they became friends with everyone in the guild. Well, almost everyone. They weren't sure if Romeo considered them a friend, but he was still nice. Quiet, but nice. They were surprised when they found out Azure was the Water Dragon Slayer, and that Samuel was her Exceed partner, but that didn't affect their friendship, even if it reminded them of the three Dragon Slayers they once had.<p>

Everyone knew Azure as the tomboyish, carefree girl that looked like a boy, and Samuel as the brains. Whenever Azure entered the guild doors, she always knocked down the doors, until Macao told her to stop because they cost money. Samuel sometimes drove everyone nuts by talking too much about his calculations. Other than that, everything was fine.

Ever since Azure and Samuel have been going out on requests, there has been rumors that Fairy Tail had a new member, aka Azure, and that she's been going on missions and is pretty tough. The other people shrugged it off, still thinking of Fairy Tail as the weakest guild ever.

One day, Kinana asked Azure, "Where do you live, Azure? I mean, if you're going to be a Fairy Tail member, you have to live somewhere."

"Yeah, come to think of it, we never did know where you and Samuel lived," said Wakaba.

"Well before, me and Samuel often camped out in forests a lot while traveling," explained Azure, leaning back against a chair. "Right now, we live in the woods with a small cabin we built. We don't have much supplies, and we want to live in an apartment. The only problem is the money. *sigh* If only there was more jobs with more money to pay the rent."

_'That sounds a lot like Lucy would say,' _everyone else thought sadly.

"What about this one?" suggested Laki, holding a request in her hands and handing it to Azure.

"Hmm...slay an indestructible Legion in Treeshroud Plains. The Legion appears at night from the sky, preying on anyone that comes near or in the plains. Please, help our people! Reward is 8,000 Jewels."

"What?! You can't take that job!" cried out Warren.

"And why not?" asked Azure, curious.

"Because, that's a Legion we're taking about! A rare beast! A-"

"Oh, please," sighed Samuel. "Due to my calculations, Azure can wipe out that Legion."

"Yeah, that's right!" said Azure, cracking her knuckles. "I'll easily take down that Legion like taking candy from a baby!"

"No way! As Master, I absolutely forbid you to do this request!" ordered Macao.

"..." Azure looked away and thought very carefully what to do. Suddenly, the doors slammed open, revealing some dangerous-looking guys wielding some weapons and wearing some cocky looks on their faces.

"Hey, I thought I told you not to come here anymore, Teebo!" shouted Macao angrily, refering to the man in the middle.

"We just came here for the payment," replied the man named Teebo.

"You didn't pay them, yet?" exclaimed Wakaba to Macao.

"Uh...what's going on?" asked Azure, confused along with Samuel.

"Oh yeah, we didn't tell you yet," said Jet. "You see those guys? They're from another guild somewhere around Magnolia, which is Twlight Ogre. They...helped us get the tavern which is the guild. In exchange, we have to pay them each month."

"That's right! So, where's the payment?" asked Teebo.

"We didn't get much work! Please, I'll pay you double next month!" begged Macao.

"...How much money does Twilight Ogre orders you to pay them?" asked Azure.

"About 150,000 Jewels. Why?" answered Droy.

"...How about this much?" asked Azure to Teebo, holding a bag of money in it from her bag. "It's got 7,000 Jewels in it. It's not much, but it's better than nothing, right?"

"What?" gasped Alzack, surprised at the generous act Azure was doing.

"What are you doing, Azure?" questioned Samuel, surprised.

"Heh, fine," agreed Teebo, swiping the bag. "We'll be expecting more money next month! Luckily for you guys, we won't destroy anything just this once, because we're in a good mood! If it weren't for this brat here, we would have destroyed things here, again! See you next month!"

And so, the Twilight Ogre guild members walked away, crackling in mad laughter and leaving the Fairy Tail guild alone.

"That was a bad move, Azure," scolded Samuel. "You just gave away all of the money we collected throughout the years to some low lives."

"Hey, it was my decision. It was the only way to get those morons out of there and not injure anyone," reasoned Azure. "What would you have done? Let them destroy the guild?"

"No, but I don't think giving them all our money was the wisest choice. Because of that, we have nothing to pay the rent for."

"Hey, Azure? Um...thanks for sticking up for us," thanked Nab.

"Yeah, if it weren't for you, someone would have gotten hurt really badly," agreed Laki.

"Nah, I would have done what anyone would have done," said Azure, giving a smug grin at Samuel, who huffed and looked away.

"Yes, thank you," Macao also thanked. "But, you only fended them off for one month. How are we supposed to get the payment in the next month? I wish I knew..."

"Well, just give me permission to do the request I wanted to do before," said Azure.

"Like, I said before, no. And that's final."

"But Master, think of it this way," Azure tried to convince. "If I go to more jobs and complete them, that means more money, which means you can pay those scumbags easily. In addition, it may raise Fairy Tail's status, even a little. Not a bad deal, right?"

"..." Macao thought carefully about this. Azure's reasoning was fair and an high advantage. In addition, Azure did say she was a Dragon Slayer, and they are hard to find these days. However, he was still suspicious of Azure. He didn't want another Magic Council member, like Doranbolt, to join Fairy Tail, even if they are too young. Plus, she didn't have proof that she was a Water Dragon Slayer.

"Come on, Macao! I think it's good," urged Wakaba.

"I told you to call me 'Master!'" reminded Macao. "Alright, you can take this request."

"Yay! But, if I give you the money, I want something in return!"

Macao rubbed his temples due to stress and frustration. There was also a price to pay, wasn't there? "What is it?" He silently pleaded to himself that it wouldn't be too much trouble.

Azure looked around and thought for a moment. "Ooh! Is there a spare room in the guild?"

"Um...well, there is, but it's too small, and no one's ever used it," replied Kinana, pointing to the top of the stairs where there was a door.

"Great! Okay, if I give you the money, I wanna stay in that room with Samuel!"

Macao blinked, surprised. "That's it? Just a room?"

"That's it!"

"Yes! Of course!" spoke up Wakaba, agreeing immediantly. "It's a deal!"

"Hey! I'm the one who makes the decisions!" argued Macao before turning to Azure. "But, you're right. Alright, I guess you can stay in the spare room."

"Yay!"

"However," started Macao in a serious tone. "I want to prove your loyalty to Fairy Tail, so, I want someone to be with you on this mission other than Samuel."

"So, who should I pair up with?" wondered Azure, thinking carefully. "Are you going to pick, Master?"

"No, I'll let you pick, just to be fair."

"Alright, Samuel? What would be best suited to pair up with me?"

"Hmm..." Samuel was searching through his notes in his book he always carries. "According to my calculations, the best person would have to be...Reedus."

"Huh? Alright then. Reedus, you're with me," said Azure.

"Oh, me? I don't know why, but okay."

"Well, with that said, me, Samuel, and Reedus are going now! Bye, guys!" sang Azure, taking the painter's arm and her Exceed before running off with them outside.

The first thing Reedus spotted was a gray colored motorcycle laying on the grass outside of the guild before it was picked up and positioned by Azure. "Is that a Magical Vehicle?" he asked, watching Azure strap an SE-Plug onto her wrist.

As soon as Azure put on her motorcycle helmet, she nodded. "Yup! Here, catch!" She tossed another motorcycle helmet to Reedus, who managed to catch it as Samuel held onto Azure's coat. "Hurry up and get in!"

"R-right!" After Reedus sat on the back seat and carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, Azure started the engines.

Samuel turned to Reedus and warned calmly, "You really want to hold on. Azure likes to go fast."

"Wait, WHAAAAAAAAAA-!" In a flash, Azure and her companions rode away from the guild and down a road, with Azure driving and careful not to hit people. Samuel had closed his eyes and was bracing for anything, as Reedus continued to scream.

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><p><em>Later... <em>

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Reedus was still screaming ever since they started riding due to Azure's crazy riding and hasn't stopped since, until now.

When they finally stopped, Azure let out a sigh, her magic depleted. "Oh, looks like I'm outta magic. Well, I guess we could take a break."

Reedus tackled himself to the grass, embracing every ounce of green. "Oh! Oh! Soft, sweet grass! I love you so!"

_'Poor, poor guy,' _thought Samuel before resting underneath a shady tree and reading a nice book.

Azure sat down on the grass, right next to Reedus. "Here, I made these." She handed Reedus a canteen while she had one herself, and Samuel walked up to her to retrieve his before returning to his spot to read. "It's one of my special herbal teas. I may not look like it, but I'm a good cook."

"Oh, thank you, Azure," thanked Reedus, taking the canteen. He gulped down the liquid inside, and it tasted sweet. A bit sour, but sweet. "It's good!"

"See? I knew you'd like it," said Azure, smiling. "Hey, Reedus? Can I ask you a personal question? Well, not exactly personal, but you'll get what I mean in a second."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Um...I want you to tell me all you know about Gray Fullbuster! I don't know if we're related or not, but even so, I still want to know. Unless, you don't want to tell me?"

"...I'm sorry, I can't," apologized Reedus, his shoulders slumped. "It...brings up too many painful memories, but Gray is nice. I...I'm sorry. I'm cowardly, aren't I?"

"Hey, it's okay," assured Azure. "If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I won't ask you about it anymore, I promise."

"Thank you..." sighed Reedus in relief.

Once they rested long enough, they got up and soon arrived at the village. When arriving, they were surprised to see wooden huts as the homes, and not homes made of bricks or other harden material. Wooden huts weren't usual in villages, so that's why they were surprised.

"Hello? We're from Fairy Tail and we'd like to talk to the chief please!" called Azure as loud as she could. The villagers stopped what they were doing to stare at the two intruders. Then, an old elderly man walked up towards them.

"I am the Chief of this village. Are you Fairy Tail?" asked the Chief.

"Yup! Here's the proof!" said Azure, taking off her glove and showing her left hand, revealing the Fairy Tail Guild stamp. Reedus also showed his stamp. (Actually, I have no idea where his is.)

"Hmm...very well. As the request had said before, the Legion comes out at night in Treeshoud Plains. It's a bit far from here, luckily. Just keep going on north, and you should realize the plains by then."

'Thank you, sir," thanked Reedus before they left.

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><p><em>That night... <em>

"La la la la la!~" sang Azure, skipping ahead of both her male companions.

Reedus turned to Samuel awkwardly and whispered, "Hey, is she always like this?"

Samuel nodded, looking a bit exhausted. "Don't worry, you'll get used to this if you're around her long enough."

**BOOM! **A massive, swine-esque entity whose body was covered in smooth, dark fur, sharp teeth, large black horns, and jet-black wings landed on the ground with a large crash that shook the ground and some trees.

"There's a Legion! The target!" cried out Samuel, dropping his book. As soon as he did, his body glowed and began to grow taller and more muscular, making him look older as his wings spread out.

"W-whoa!" Reedus was stunned by Samuel's appeared, then realized they were preparing for battle, so he took out his paintbrush and colors. "I-I'll provide support from the back!"

"Alright, just attack when there's an opening!" ordered Samuel, sharpening his claws as they glinted in the moonlight.

Azure's eyes grew sharp like a hawk's, and her expression turned from excitement to serious. She took a deep breath before muttering in a quiet tone, "Water Dragon's Roar."

Once she let go of her breath, a small light ball of water showed up at the front of her mouth before turning it into an unstoppable stream of water towards the Legion. The Legion roared in pain once the magic spell attacked it, but stood its ground.

Azure knew that Legions are one of the rarest and toughest creatures in the world, so, she decided to use more force. "Water Dragon's Crushing Fang." Once she got close, her hands were coated with water, and she lashed out at the Legion, striking with her fingertips and leaving a wake of water as she did so. She did this several times before the Legion countered attacked with his head, knocking Azure back a little.

"Pict Magic: Nature, Run Wild!" As soon as he drew various, different colored boars, a variety of colored boars sprang from Reedus' stomach and tackled the Legion, causing a little bit of damage, but not enough to take it down.

As Azure regained herself, she knew that Legions were known for their flight, speed, and enormous strength, so this was going to be a little tough. The Legion charged towards her with unbelieveable speed, but charging forward was something Azure predicted, so she decided to do something about that.

"Water Dragon's Rush." Azure swiftly rushes to her left, avoiding the Legion and rushing towards a river, where her magic power would be amplified. She placed her hands into a nearby river, and yells, "Water Dragon's Geyser!"

**BAM! **The magical energy Azure poured flowed underground until it reached the Legion. Then, a large geyser appeared underneath the Legion, making it fly into the air. Then, the Legion flapped its wings and started flying away.

"Not so fast!" Samuel, who was in mid-air, flew towards the Legion, and as soon as he was close by, he started slashing the sides of the Legion swiftly, delivering multiple hits before his target flew to a different direction as soon as it could.

"Water Dragon's Tail Whip!" shouted Azure, splashing her hands with the river. Then, she extends the water using both her hands to create two tail-like whips, one for each hand. She lashed both water whips at the Legions, wrapping them around its wings and bringing it down just a little.

Reedus knew this was his chance, so as quickly as he could, he painted a picture of a cannon in his stomach. "Pict Magic: Cannon Fire!" The animated cannon fired several flaming cannonballs at the Legion, hitting its side so much it caused smoke to form around the monster.

But when the smoke vanished, the monster was still intacted, and Azure was struggling to keep it from flying away. Samuel flew up to the Legion once again and repeatedly slashed the sides, though it was once again, difficult.

"Pict Magic: Cannon Ice!" Hearing the sound of a cannon firing, Samuel flew out of the way and watched as a blue cannonball hit one of the wings of the Legion, freezing it, though not completely.

Seeing how one of the wings were frozen, Azure released her magic spell that was holding the Legion's wings, and since the Legion can't operate freely with one wing, it crashed down to the ground, causing a giant crater to form beneath it as it struggled to move.

"It's vulnerable! Attack!" ordered Samuel, springing down before swiping his claws and slashing at the sides once more.

"Pict Magic: Slashes!" After drawing slashes on his stomach, Reedus summoned white slash-like objects which hit the Legion's side.

As Azure rushed over to perform close combat, she unsheathed her curved dao sword from her scabbard that was attached to her back, preparing for battle. She leaped up and spung around, damaging the Legion as she danced around while slashing at the sides.

Once Samuel found the Legion's weak point, he shouted, "Azure! The weak point's on your right! Finish it off!"

Nodding, Azure lifted up her dao sword before bringing it down on the spot Samuel described. The Legion let out a roar of pain before crumpling to the ground, defeated.

Reedus sighed in relief, sitting down on the ground as he rested. He saw Azure approaching him, her expression hidden due to her cap. When she got there, her serious expression turned into a friendly smile and she raised up her hand, saying, "Hey, Reedus! We did it! Aren't we super strong now?"

"O-oui..."

"Since we worked together, I say we split up our reward!" said Azure, kneeling down in front of him. "What do you say? Wanna return to the village now?"

Reedus nodded, exhausted. The sooner they leave, the better!

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><p><em>About a day later... <em>

"Hey guys! We're back!" called Azure, helping out a green-faced Reedus walk inside the guild before making him lay on a soft couch.

"What happened?" asked Macao, worried.

"Long story short. We found the village, fought the Legion, and we killed it. End of story. Oh, and we got the reward money," said Azure, holding up a bag of Jewels.

"I knew she could do it," said Samuel, unimpressed. "All thanks to my calculations."

"Ooh...note to self...never eat anything before riding in a highly dangerous anf fast vehicle," groaned Reedus as Kinana was taking care of him.

Azure yawned, tired because she and Samuel didn't get a wink of sleep yesterday. "I'm going to bed early. Wake me up tommorow, alright?"

"Alright then," sighed Macao. "But there are some conditions if you're going to live here. First, no breaking anything, no staying up late, no leaving dirty tracks, and you have to help clean up the place."

"Yikes, and I thought I'd have to avoid the clean up condition," sighed Azure as she and Samuel tiredily started walking up the stairs. "Fine, it's a done deal."

"So, how were they?" Wakaba asked Reedus, who was starting to feel a bit better due to the flu medicine Kinana gave him.

"Let's just say...I'm never riding with her ever again."

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><p><strong>Hope: I know. I probably got some of these characters OOC, but I can't figure out much about them. The dao sword I got the idea from Zuko from Avatar, and used one of the swords he used. Anyways, read and review, and please, someone, give me some ideas!<strong>


	3. Winter's Warmth

**One more thing before we start this chapter! Samuel is actually an Exceed from the anime, and I just took him because nobody was using him in the manga, so I thought, 'Why not have him be Azure's Exceed?' With that said, here's the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs!**

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><p>About three months has passed since Azure and Samuel have joined Fairy Tail, but Fairy Tail's reputation only increased by about 2%, due to it still being called the weakest guild in all of Fiore. The only rumor it had was that a few new members joined, but that was it, and the few new members were just Azure and Samuel, no one else.<p>

Despite that, a few new requests were posted every now and then, and some of the guild members other than our favorite dragonslayer and her Exceed accepted some of them, including Nab, and he had trouble trying to pick requests before. Of course, there was still the money trouble with the guild, Twilight Ogre. Sure Azure and Samuel volunteered to help pay the taxes, but they didn't gain enough to pay each and every month. As a result, destroying things in the guild as Twilight Ogre's payment. As much as Azure wanted to 'smack their faces and kick their asses,' she was forbidden to do so by Macao. Since he is the Guildmaster, she had to obey.

Samuel gained a bit of knowledge and wrote them down while doing requests either by himself, with Azure, or with someone else, which was rare since he constantly travels with Azure. Everyone in the guild knew that Samuel was the know-it-all in the guild and quickly accepted the fact, but were always annoyed when he gave away long lectures or explanations on things.

Azure was still trying to find clues about her parents and if Gray Fullbuster was actually her brother. Some of the guild members tried to help once, but no success. She refused to talk about her parents, and she still couldn't find clues for Gray Fullbuster. Once, Laki asked what sort of dragon parent did Azure had, and she replied that her adoptive parent is too carefree, cocky, annoys her a lot, and sometimes a bit perverted, making everyone wonder if she got those traits from her adoptive parent.

Azure and Samuel happily slept in one of the guild rooms, though it was small. Even so, they didn't mind, as long as they had a place to sleep. Turns out that Azure never really did like cleaning, but she had to do it to fufill the condition of living in the guild. Samuel filled their room with history books so that he and Azure could learn from them, and no matter how much they cleaned their room, it only became messier and messier. The messiest room was Azure and Samuel's room, and it was a wonder where they put more books in the small room.

One day at the guild, Max, Droy, Jet, Nab, and Warren were all crowded in front of the Request Board, trying to pick out the very few requests on the board, which were like, five. Wakaba and Macao went out shopping with Kinana, and Bisca and Alzack went to spent time with their daughter.

"...Alright! Me and Droy are going to take this one!" decided Jet, snatching a request from the board.

"Hmm...that seems to be a hard request," Droy said after reading it. "But it's better than nothing."

"Hey, has anyone seen Azure and Samuel?" asked Warren.

"Wait, she was just here a moment ago," Laki spoke up.

Suddenly, the doors to the guild opened and revealed Azure with Samuel. "Hey, guys! I'm back!"

"Where were you?" asked Nab.

"It was getting kinda hot in the guild, so I took a short walk with Samuel. Hey, did the new requests come out?" asked Azure, walking towards the Request Board. She took one good look at them before snatching one. "I'm taking this one!"

Nab looked over her shoulder and read it outloud, "'My little boy has caught a rare illness and is close to death real quickly. The only ingredient left to make the cure is from a red lily flower that's heavily guarded by a large and strong plant monsters called Frost Ivy, which are resistant to the cold. They're located in Tundra Forest, so please come to Tundra Village when you're finished. Reward: 300 Gald and the recipe for my special strawberry cream.'"

"Yup! I decided on that!"

"Uh...you do know the request takes place in a cold place, right?" reminded Max. "I don't do cold places."

"Same here," both Droy and Jet spoke in unison, raising up their palms.

"Hmmm...Nab! Do you wanna go on the quest with me and Samuel?" asked Azure cheerfully.

"Sorry, but I perfer solo missions."

"Despite the fact that you never pick a job?" mumbled Warren, crossing his arms.

"Then, do you want to go with me and Samuel then, Warren?" Azure reverted to Warren, smiling.

"Well...I guess I have nothing better to do, and we do need the money, so alright. But, just in case, let's bring one more member. Who knows, it could be dangerous."

Azure looked around the guild, trying to find the next perfect party member. Max, Droy, and Jet were out because they hated cold places and she didn't want to force them, and Nab perferred solo missions, and the others were busy, so...

"Vijeeter!" called out Azure, waving to the older man who was busy dancing. "Wanna go to a mission with us? You might be able to find some sort of new dance in some sort of snowy place!"

Her words inspired the dancer as he danced his way to the group. "Oh yeah! I love it! Let's do it!"

Warren sighed, rubbing his temple. "This is gonna take a while..."

* * *

><p><em>A day later... <em>

"Why did we agree to bring him along?" complained Warren, addressing to Vijeeter who was dance walking as they explored the snowy forest. The four of them wore winter clothing to keep themselves warm, and it took them a day to arrive at the Tundra Forest because Azure's motorcycle was broken and being repaired.

"Well, everyone else had reasons not to go, so the only available person was him!" replied Azure, grinning. "I can't wait to see what kind of Magic you and Vijeeter have!"

Samuel's stomach started growling loudly, and he sighed, being hungry. "Wait. Can we take a lunch break?"

"I guess so. I am kinda hungry myself," admitted Warren, his stomach growling lightly. Before they had left, Azure had prepared some hot food for the four of them just in case they got hungry, and placed them in her backpack.

"Alright! Let's eat!" announced Azure, after placing a picnic blanket on the soft snow and putting the food on top of it. The four of them enjoyed a hot lunch of rice balls, tea, and sausages as they chatted about fun activities.

Vijeeter was the first to finish eating, and backed away before proclaiming, "Oi! Check out my new dance I just invented! It's called, 'The Snow Dance!'" He began to twirl around in the snow and making some weird dance forms before finishing with a pose with one foot off the ground.

"Uh..." Apparently, Warren and Samuel had no comment.

Suddenly, Azure started clapping and giggling happily, enjoying the dance. "That was so cool, Vijeeter! I love it!"

"Really?!" exclaimed Vijeeter in a happy mood.

"Wait, what?!" Someone actually complimented on Vijeeter's poor dancing skills for once?! Just to be sure, Warren used his Telepathy Magic to check on Azure's mind, even though it was supposed to be private.

_'Yeah, that was so cool! I wonder if Vijeeter will teach me that? Nah, I can't ask him! Like they say, a magician always keeps his secrets, or in this case, a dancer!' _

_'Looks like she's not lying,' _wondered Warren, sweatdropping at the young girl's excitement.

Meanwhile, Samuel had flown up to the skies for two reasons. One, to avoid the conversation about the dancing, and two, to inspect the area in case any dangers were up ahead. To his surprise, he spotted large, white herbivores not too far away, protecting some sort of red flower.

Samuel flew back to the group and announced, "I found where the flower is. It's not too far from here, but like the request said, it is guarded by the plant monsters."

"Don't worry! I can easily beat them up with my water magic!" assured Azure, throwing fists in front of her to pump herself up.

"You do realize that plants love water, right?" Warren reminded. "Well, we should get going. I don't want to stay in the cold any longer."

"Oi! I just made up a new dance! 'The Snow Dance 2!''

"Nobody wants to see your dance, Vijeeter!"

"That;s rude, Warren! I wanna!"

"I'm surrounded by children..."

"I'm older than you, Samuel! And quit dancing, Vijeeter!"

After Warren managed to get Vijeeter to stop dancing for a while, much to Azure's dislike, they continued walking to their destination. Curious, Warren asked Azure, "Hey, can I ask you something? Why did you want to take the job?"

"Hmm? Because it was a request, obviously!" said Azure, looking at Warren like he was stupid. "An easy one at that!"

_'Easy?! You have to get a flower being protected by powerful monsters! How is that easy?' _Warren wanted to exclaim. "Well, what about the reward? I'm not trying to be greedy, but we have a debt to pay, and the reward is...well, low. Are you sure you wanted to pick that job?"

"Yup! I don't blame you for worrying about the money problems, Warren, but I actually have another reason for picking the job."

"That's a first," admitted Samuel, looking up from his book. "Normally, you would just take random jobs without question."

"Yeah, but this one's kinda special."

"How?"

"You see..."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback... <em>

_"Water Dragon's Claw!" A six year old Azure slashed at her foster parent, Nereus, who easily blocked the weak attack with his arm. He frowned, wondering why Azure's technique was much weaker than before. In fact, why were all of her attacks unusually weak today?_

_"Hold on, time out, kiddo." Azure, who was charging towards Nereus, screeched to a stop, panting heavily. Gently, Nereus lifted up one of his fingers and felt Azure's forehead, which was extremely hot. However, it was not due to stress from training, but from a fever. "Idiot! Why didn't you tell me you had a fever!"_

_Azure waited until she regained her breath, then, putting her hands on her hips, she answered, "Because I totally wanna be strong like you, Nereus! A stupid fever won't-" _

_Suddenly, she stumbled back, her headache aching like crazy and her vision darkening until everything went back._

_"...Nnngh..." Blinking her eyes, Azure found herself in the small leaf bed she had personally made while living with Nereus. _

_"Chibi, you awake?" Azure turned her head to see Nereus, holding a small cup of water with some sort of plant on top of it. "Idiot, you fainted on me."_

_"Eh?" Azure yawned and sat up before taking the drink Nereus had. "Thank you." After drinking it, she felt a bit better, and while she had slept, her fever decreased dramatically. "Oh, wait! We have to train and-!"_

_"Hold it, flatty. You're not fit to-"_

_"Stop calling me flatty, old man!"_

_"Oi! I'm not an old man!"_

_"Baka!"_

_"Brat!"_

_"Punk!" _

_"Idiot!"_

_"Old geezer!" _

* * *

><p>"...And, yeah. That's it!"<p>

Warren and Samuel sweatdropped while Vijeeter was performing one of his dances, but the three of them knew what Azure's point was. She didn't care about the reward, but more about the safety of the sick boy described in the request, and how she was once in his shoes.

"We're here," announced Samuel, coming to a stop. Everyone looked up and saw two large white plant monsters with large leaves and huge jaws like Venus Traps. When the monsters spotted the group, they took the first initiative and their vines extended towards them.

"Spread!" commanded Warren, jumping out of the way. Samuel had flown away in time, and Vijeeter and Azure somersaulted out of the way before the four of them prepared for battle.

It didn't take long for Samuel to transform into Battle Form as soon as the battle started. "Warren, provide information or warn us with your Telepathy Magic! Vjeeter, be the bait! Azure, you and I attack!"

"On it!" both Warren and Vijeeter agreed as Azure nodded curtly. Vijeeter ran forward first, easily dodging the plant monsters' whip wines with his Dancer Magic, allowing him to increase his fighting capacities along with his allies. In addition, it also decreases his opponents' capacities, such as the plant monsters.

As the plants were focusing their attention on the acrobatic mage, Azure rushed past Vijeeter and sliced the vines with her dao sword. In the meantime, Samuel remained in the air and fired beams from his claws, attacking from an aerial position.

Then, one of the plant monsters managed to catch Vijeeter by tangling its vine around its leg, soon making him dangle mid-air, above the jaws of a very hungry plant monster.

_'Damnit! Samuel, you think you can catch Vijeeter?' _thought Warren, still using his Telepathy Magic to communicate with his allies.

Samuel nodded and turned to Azure, who had just finished off a plant monster, who was left with various cuts and pieces of itself. "Azure! Cut the vine!" Azure turned, seeing Vijeeter about to be eaten by a plant monster. She nodded, understanding her Exceed's intent before throwing her dao sword like a boomerang, which sliced the vine holding the dancing mage before the weapon fell to the ground.

As Vijeeter was screaming and falling, Samuel swooped by and caught him in time before landing to the ground, placing him back. Afterwards, Samuel flew back up, delivering slashes from his claws from bottom to top of the plant monster before finishing it off with his claw beams, tearing the stem apart.

After sheathing her blade, Azure ran towards the red lily flower, plucking it from the ground as gently as she could while holding the fragile flower in her hands tenderly. "We got it!" she cheered, raising the flower high in the air.

"Careful with that thing! Flowers are easily delicate!" cried out Warren.

"Yeah! This calls for my 'Celebration Dance!'" cheered Vijeeter, starting to do his weird dances again.

"Gah! Enough of the dances!"

"Oh, you're no fun, Warren!" pouted Azure, putting her hands on her hips after handing the flower to Samuel. "We got the flower, so it's alright to celebrate!" With that said, she tried to mimick Vijeeter's movements as much as she could.

"Not you too!"

* * *

><p><em>A few days later... <em>

"I told you you should have worn warmer clothing," said Samuel, reading a book and sitting in a stool besides Vijeeter's bed as the owner of the bed coughed and was covered in blankets, obviously having a cold.

"T-Time to do my new dance...'The Sick Dance...'" moaned Vijeeter, starting to move around in his bed. However, he didn't really dance much due to him being sick.

"You're still dancing even while sick? You must really want to be a dancer that badly."

"Vijeeter! We're here!" announced Azure as she and Warren entered his room while carrying a pot of some sort of pink soup that was steaming.

Samuel felt a bit uneased when Azure presented the weird-looking soup to Vijeeter. Sure, Azure was a good cook, but whenever she cooked something new, it would be bad or something really weird that caused some effects on your body. "Uh...Azure? Are you sure that soup's okay?"

Warren was scooping up loads of the pink soup into four small bowls, one for each of them. "Yeah, I taste tested them, and the soup's safe."

After each of them were handed their own bowls of soup, Vijeeter sniffed the soup before coughing elsewhere. "It smells like strawberries."

Azure smiled. "Of course! I got the strawberry recipe from the reward from our last request! Dig in!"

Cautiously, Samuel took a small sip of the soup, finding it hot, but sweet as well. "It's...actually good!"

The others took sips of their soup and found it tasty as well before finishing the rest, enjoying each other company as they await the recovery of their sick dancing friend.

* * *

><p><strong>Well? Wasn't the chapter heart-warming? If you've got ideas for Fairy Tail requests on the request board, I'm all ears! Read and review!<strong>


	4. Cold Trust

**Hey, guys! Nice weather we're having! Here's a bit of Romeo x Azure! Cuteness!~**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs!**

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><p>Azure was frustrated. Frustrated because she couldn't get a certain fire mage to smile, even once! Tha certain fire mage was Romeo Conbolt, the Master's son, who was the same age as her. The first time she met him was a few days after she joined Fairy Tail, and she was surprised when Romeo ignored her just because she said she was a dragon slayer<p>

Therefore, whenever she saw him, she'd try to make friends with Romeo and try to get him to smile, even though everyone told her he hasn't smiled for six years straight. Romeo would normally give a grunt, or have a small talk with her, mostly with him going silent. And he wouldn't even call her by her first name, but usually by other nicknames.

Today, Samuel was off on a mission with Jet and Droy, so Azure didn't have her usual partner with her. Everyone was off in missions, or doing something else. The only people here are Romeo, herself, Wakaba, Macao, and Kinana.

Azure was at the request board, trying to pick out a suitable request. Romeo walked next to her, also trying to pick out a request. Finally, they decided one for themselves and reached out to grab it, only to realize they were holding the same request.

A vein appeared on Azure's forehead as she smiled and held onto the request. "Now Romeo, I'm the older and taller one here, so I should take the request," said Azure kindly.

"No. The one who touched the request deserves it, and that's me," said Romeo, a blank expression on his face. "Just pick another one, flatchest."

"I should be saying the same thing to you!" argued Azure, her eye twitching. While it is true that she has a flat chest, she obviously didn't like to be called that, especially the one who says it mostly to her.

"Do you even know what kind of request it is?"

"To be honest, no. I just grabbed it-"

"See? You weren't thinking straight. Now, give it to me," ordered Romeo, yanking on the piece of paper.

"Well, excuse me!" grunted Azure, pulling on the piece of paper, careful not to rip it. "And anyways, it says, 'Please help defeat a large group of bandits that have taken over our sacred temple! Reward: 5,000 Jewels!'"

"See? Now, give it to me!"

"You're the stupid one! YOU give it to me!"

"That's enough! Please, stop!" pleaded Kinana, rushing towards the two and carefully taking the request out of their hands. "I don't want to resort to violence, but if you two keep this up, I may as well rip up this request and be done with it."

"What?! No!" cried Azure.

"The loudmouth started it," said Romeo, looking bored.

_'Any more insults, and he's going to get it! And I don't care if he's Master's son or not!' _thought Azure, having a sudden urge to go and strangle Romeo.

"But, in order to resolve this, we need enough money to pay for Twilight Ogre this month, and this might do it. So, you two have to work together, at least this once on this mission, understand? It's for the good of the guild," said Kinana, kindly.

"Fine! Just this once, okay?" agreed Azure.

"Agreed. Just this once," said Romeo, taking the request from Kinana. "We'll leave right away."

"Wait! I have to talk to Azure for a moment," called Macao.

"Romeo, just wait outside for me, and don't you dare leave without me. I have a motorcycle so many times faster than you, and I'm not afraid to use it!" warned Azure.

"Fine." With that said, Romeo walked out of the doors of the guild.

"So Master, what did you need to talk to me about?" asked Azure, walking towards him and Wakaba.

Macao sighed before getting serious. "It's about Romeo. I know we told you that since 6 years ago, Romeo had not smiled even once. He's still nice, but he's quiet, and doesn't even talk to me anymore. I was wondering that if you could change his attitude, even a little, I'd be grateful."

"So, you're telling me to make Romeo...nice?"

"Well, in a way, yes."

"Then, no."

"Whew, thank you so-wait, what?"

"I said, no. I refuse to accept that," said Azure, with a smile on her face.

"W-why?" asked Wakaba, shocked. He and Macao thought that since Azure was the always cheerful girl, she would accept anything that Macao asked that wouldn't prove difficult to her. Yet, why did she refuse this simple request?

"Wanna know why? It's because you asked me to. If I merely become friends with Romeo just because you told me to, that wouldn't be a good reason. Instead, Romeo would be heartbroken and even more bitter than the jerk already is. So, don't ask me to become friends with him just because you asked me to. I'll become friends with him when I want to, and the day we become friends is the day he acknowledges me as a friend. I would accept him as a friend, but for now, we're guildmates."

Macao understood what she meant and nodded. It's true that what he said was a simple request, but the result would be fatal for Romeo. He would hate his father even more than he already did, and he might not have any friends anymore.

"So, with that said, I'm leaving! See ya!" cheered Azure before running outside. When she got out, she saw Romeo sitting near a pond, looking at his own reflection. "Romeo! Time to go!"

Romeo nodded before following her to the motorcycle, getting on the back after Azure sat on the front. He was hesitant to wrap his arms around Azure's waist, because she is a girl, and he is a boy.

"Hey, hurry up and wrap your arms around my waist, because I'm going to go as fast as I can," warned Azure, impatient. After that warning, Romeo wrapped his arms around Azure's waist as tightly as he could, careful not to hurt here. After that, Azure rode off in a speed that's probably more than two times faster than Jet's speed.

* * *

><p><em>At Aurun... <em>

"I think we're here!" said Azure cheerfully when they arrived at a village. Romeo felt incredibly dizzy after that ride, but he refused to show it, especially in front of her.

"Great...now we just have to find the requester," reminded Romeo, feeling like he could throw up. "Remember, it's the mayor."

"Yeah, yeah! I got it!" said Azure. "Let's just go ask some people where the mayor's house is."

After a while, they finally located the mayor's house, and she invited them inside her house and gave them some tea. "Thank you for coming, Fairy Tail," thanked the female mayor as Azure and Romeo were sipping their tea. "I am the mayor of Aurun. Right now, we have a dire situation at our hands. As I have mentioned in the request, a group of bandits have taken over our sacred temple and used it as some sort of hideout."

"How long was this?" asked Romeo, putting down his tea cup.

"Just recently. I want you two to go to the castle and drive out the bandits no matter what."

"Well, don't worry! We'll defeat those two beasts!" assured Azure, standing up. "Romeo, let's go!" Once outside, Azure and Romeo had to ride Azure's motorcycle again, much to Romeo's displeasure. Immediantly, Azure rode much faster than she did before, towards the entrance of a forest, dodging branches and rocks as she rode.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" shouted Romeo, holding tightly to Azure.

"I'm riding as fast as I can! The faster we do this, the faster we get back home!" cheered Azure, dodging another branch.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING?!"

"Yes! I told you, I'm a Dragon Slayer! And the scent's getting closer!"

In just a few minutes, Azure screeched to a stop, meaning that the two have arrived. Romeo got off the motorcycle quickly and looked around to see a large temple building with glass windows and very tall, large doors.

"Alright! Let's do this!" announced Azure. "I've got plenty of magic power left, so we should be alright! HEY, YOU TWO BASTARDS! COME DOWN AND FIGHT ME LIKE MEN!"

"Hey! Are you trying to get us killed?!" hissed Romeo.

"No, I'm trying to get them to fight us so that we can beat them up! Then, the village will be safe!" said Azure, happily. "Hmm...maybe they aren't coming out. We should go inside!"

"No," said Romeo. 'I think it's a trap. I say, we wait here."

"Well, we can't wait any longer! Besides, I-"

"Look, I get it, okay?! You're a freakin' Dragon Slayer! I know that! So, stop pointing it out!"

"I'm pointing it out because I want you to understand, you little jerk,' scolded Azure, placing her hands on her hips. "Jeez, can't I ask what's wrong with you? Ever since I came to Fairy Tail, you've been giving me the cold shoulder. Look, I'm sorry if I did anything bad to you, but what is it that I pissed you off for?"

"You!" shouted Romeo, making Azure flinch. "You being a Dragon Slayer! That's what! Also, the fact that you kept looking for that one person that you might consider as a brother! Can't you just let it go?! Natsu-nii, Gray-nii, and the others are already dead! Over and done in the past! This is the present, so why can't you accept that?"

"I do," said Azure, still looking nice and not a speck of anger in her face.

"Liar! Shut up!" shouted Romeo, covering his ears. "Just shut up! I'm going to defeat those bandits without your help! Just leave me alone!"

Romeo ran as fast as he could inside the temple, too angry to listen to Azure's protests and away from her. He was just sick and tired of the new girl, who was always so cheerful and carefree. Heck, she probably never even noticed the slight depression she caused for the guild, even if unintentionally.

"Romeo! Hold on!" called Azure, reaching out for him, but he was too far away to hear her, or he simply ignored her. Despite the fact that she was putting up a strong face, she was offended by what he said, but decided to ignore her feelings and chase after him.

* * *

><p><em>Inside... <em>

"Man, who does she think she is, acting like she knows everything," grumbled Romeo as he ran inside. It wasn't that dark inside, since the glass windows were showing enough light for Romeo to see through the dark. So far, he hasn't encountered any of the bandits, but he did hear some weird sounds.

"Romeo, wait!" called Azure. Of course, Romeo ignored her for about the tenth time. He knew she was following behind, but he didn't respond to her as he kept walking. Azure was really finding Romeo as annoying, but kept chasing after him regardless. "Do you even know where you're going?"

"None of your business, flatchest!"

"Gh-!" Azure felt a tick mark form on her forehead, but remained calm as she followed Romeo from behind. Though it was very quiet, Azure heard a small rock move from the left corner and the sound of a gun clicking.

"WATCH OUT!"

**BANG! BANG! **It was only about a few seconds, but Romeo remembered exactly what happened. A man came out with a gun and fired some sort of Guns Magic at him, and he would have been dead if it weren't for Azure. Azure tackled him to the ground and saved his life, but for a price. She got shot in the arm, which was badly crooked, before she fired some sort of water spell at the shooter, which knocked him out.

Romeo sat up and glanced at Azure, who was clutching her bleeding and twisted arm. "Hey! Are you okay?!"

Azure grunted from the pain, then, with one hand, took off her jacket as fast as she could, and tied the jacket around her injured arm with her mouth and free hand. "N-never mind me! We gotta move, quick!"

"Why?"

"Hurry up!" barked Azure, standing up and giving Romeo a glance, who was startled by her outburst and her sharp, hawk-like eyes. He stood up and nodded, running as he followed Azure to wherever she was running to. She spotted another corner nearby before running there and opening a door that lead to a closet. "In here!"

Before Romeo could protest, he could hear voices getting louder. "Intruders nearby!"

"Where?!"

"Maybe this way!"

Azure grabbed Romeo's wrist and pulled him inside before quietly closing the door as the footsteps and voices faded away. The closet both of them were in was too small and too dark, making the two of them huddle close to each other.

Romeo, realizing that he was in a closet with a person with the opposite gender, his face felt heat and he scrambled to get away from Azure other than the door. While panicking, he had bumped into a figure, most likely Azure, and felt something flat, yet soft and flesh with his bare hands.

"What's-"

"Shh." Azure's hiss interrupted Romeo before he could finish.

"But-"

"Shh."

A few minutes passed, and thinking that it was alright, Azure cautiously twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, light flooding into the darkness of the closet and filling it up. Romeo glanced at what he was touching and saw his hands pressed against Azure's flat chest.

"G-gah!" A red-faced Romeo quickly backed away from the older girl and turned around, crossing his arms and trying to forget what just happened.

Azure, who's sharp, serious eyes have turned back to their normal, cheerful look, looked at Romeo curiously, pressing a finger to her lips in a cute way. "What's wrong, Romeo? We managed to escape the bad people, so why are you so red-faced? Are you sick?"

"No! I-it's nothing!" There was no way Romeo was ever going to tell anyone, especially his old man, what he had accidentally done. That was going to be a secret to the grave for him! "Let's just hurry up and go-!"

"Hold it," said Azure, grabbing him by the back of his yellow scarf. "Last time we charged in, we got ambushed instead! So, we do this stealth style!"

"Uh...what?"

"Stealth style! Meaning, we go really fast but being quiet at the same time! Pretty neat, huh?"

Romeo only frowned, facing her. "Knowing you, that's not going to work."

* * *

><p><em>Later... <em>

"...Looks like the intruders escaped," spoke one of the bandits, speaking to a group of other bandits in a large room.

_'I can't believe her stupid plan actually worked!' _thought Romeo, shocked as he turned to see Azure, who was listening to the bandit's conversation. Azure's plan was risky and dangerous, but after knocking out a few bandits and hiding a few times, both Fairy Tail members found themselves on top of a wooden railing, glancing down at the group of bandits while they were having some sort of meeting.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it?" a bandit said. "I mean, that village always sends some sort of team to try and get us to leave, but they failed, just like they do in life."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we go and ransack that place already? It's starting to annoy me."

"Alright then! Tommorow, how about we go on ahead?"

"Those bastards..." cursed Romeo under his breath, clutching the wooden pillar he was gripping very tightly. He noticed Azure standing up suddenly and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Water Dragon's Roar!" Letting out a large stream of water, Azure took out a large number of the bandits with that spell, but there were still more bandits in the large meeting area. In fact, due to the unexpected ambush, the bandits glanced upwards to see two Fairy Tail wizards up in the railings.

"Up there!"

"Just two kids?!"

"We can take them!"

"Nice!" Romeo shouted to Azure sarcastically. "Now thanks to you, they-" Before he could finish, Azure had leaped down onto the drenched ground filled with unconscious bandits, where her feet made wet, splattering sounds from the small puddles.

"Hey, hey, what's that boy doing?"

"Is he asking for it?"

Azure ignored all of the bandits whispering and smiled cheerfully. "Hi! Sorry for knocking out some of your friends, but I ask you bandits something?"

_'Idiot! What's she thinking?! If I don't help her soon, she's in for it!' _Romeo thought, thinking how much of an idiot Azure was standing out to be.

"Huh?" asked one of the bandits. Romeo's fist was engulfed in a red flaming fire, just in case trouble happened.

"Yeah! So...would you please leave this temple and surrender?" asked Azure politely. "I mean, the townspeople really need this sacred temple badly! If you don't, me and my partner will be forced to beat up all of you, so... Okay?"

Romeo seriously wanted to facepalm as soon as the bandits started laughing at the chirpy girl. One of them walked up to her with a cocky expression on his face. "Evacuate us, huh? And how exactly are you gonna do that, little boy? There's so many of us vs the two of you!"

"Hmm...Are you sure you won't reconsider?" asked Azure. "This is your last chance, you know!~ Please evacuate and avoid damage or me and my friend will be forced to attack you!~"

"I'd like to see you try, girlie!"

"Okay! Don't say I didn't warn ya!~" In a flash, a fist was buried deep into the bandit's stomach, the fist belonging to the tomboyish girl who had a cold and emotionless expression on her face. She stepsided as the bandit's body fell to the ground, unconscious.

Shocked, Romeo noticed the tension rising in the room and leaped from his position, landing next to Azure. He stood back-to-back to her, cletching his teeth as he prepared to face a lot of bandits in the room.

The bandits were only stunned momentarily before taking out their weapons, enraged. "Why you little-!" One of them wielding a heavy halberd charged towards Azure and swung downwards as Romeo readied for a fire defense.

Widening her eyes for an instant, Azure waited until the halberd was swung down, then performed a swift roundhouse kick at the wielder's face, making him collapse on his back and drop the halberd.

Romeo heard a man yelling as he charged forward from behind, so, the Fairy Tail fire mage crotched down and legsweeped the fellow with a fiery kick before delivering a fist full of red fire to his stomach, knocking him out. He got up and rushed towards a few other bandits, purple flames being produced in his palms.

Meanwhile, Azure was still fighting on her own, dodging slow, strong blows with ease before leaping up to do a somersault and resulting with her kicking a man's face in. Afterwards, she used his face as launching to get to another bandit before punching his face with her free hand, seeing how her other hand was too injured to move.

With a cry, Romeo started firing blue fireballs at other bandits, and he managed to hit a few so far, but he had to hide behind a pillar fro protection because some other bandits were using Guns Magic to corner him. _'Damnit! Just need to hit a few of them!' _thought Romeo, clutching his fistful of blue fire.

He heard fast footsteps getting closer, then tilted his head to his right to see Azure rushing towards the bandits firing Guns Magic, her free hand wielding her dao sword. By the time the bandits noticed Azure, it was too late. She had begun to slice up their guns before proceeding to beat them up with her martial arts.

Seeing his chance, Romeo joined in as well, his flame-like fists providing as increasing attacks as he and Azure beat down the rest of the bandits. In several minutes, they managed to defeat all of the bandits but one, who was in a corner, cowering in fear.

Azure silently approached the last bandit, sheathing her dao sword back into its scabbard. When she appeared in front of the fearful bandit, she asked, "Will you surrender now?"

The bandit nodded, dropping his weapons and getting on his knees. "I-I surrender!"

Romeo let out a small sigh of relief, exhausted due to the outcome of the harsh battle he and his partner had battled. He had to admit, she was extremely good at fighting like she said, but, when he saw her eyes in battle, they were cold and serious, unlike her child-like ones.

After tying up all of the defeated bandits, both Fairy Tail wizards waited until the villagers took them to jail, where they would stay there for a long time. After receiving their reward, Romeo glanced at Azure's arm, who had been re-bandaged.

"Oi, usagi."

"Hmm?" Azure turned to Romeo at the mention of her common nickname.

"What are you going to do about your arm? It's injured now, isn't it?"

"Aww!~ Are you secretly worried about me?~" teased Azure, giggling.

Romeo turned away, pouting. "N-No! It's just that you need both arms to drive that crazy motorcycle of yours, and I don't want any difficulties!"

"Well, if there's a lake or river nearby, I might be able to do something with my injury," said Azure, pondering on it. It didn't take long for them to spot a small stream ahead. "Ah! There it is!"

The fire mage watched as Azure ran towards the stream, unwrapping her bandages on her arm before bending down and placing her arm under the cold stream. Suddenly, a faint blue light glowed on her injury, and seconds later, the injury closed up like it was never there.

When Azure returned to Romeo, he stammered, "H-how did you...?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's easy! As a Water Dr-oh! Er...sorry." Azure quickly apologized, remembering that her bragging of being a Dragon Slayer had already ticked off Romeo. She didn't want him upset again. "As part of my Magic, I can use only a little bit of supporting magic. I only know a few, though, due to my idiotic Dad only teaching me more about offensive spells."

"Wait a minute," started Romeo. "If you could use healing magic, why didn't you do it back at the temple?"

"Well, my Magic has...limitations. As long as there's water, I can heal myself, but it requires a large amount of water, and back at the temple, there weren't much water particles in the air."

"Gh-!" Romeo let out a small gasp, winching from the scratch he received from the battle earlier.

Azure grew concerned, drenched her hand with water before placing it on Romeo's wound, instantly healing his scratch. "There! All done!"

"..." Romeo turned away, thankful, but a little upset. The magic Azure described reminded him of Wendy's healing magic, but Azure wasn't Wendy. She never was from the beginning.

* * *

><p>While Azure riding in a fast, but normal pace back to the guild, Romeo said quietly, "Hey, I have something to tell you."<p>

"What?"

"...Thanks."

Azure screeched to a stop when she heard that. "Whoa, what?"

"I'm not repeating it!" said Romeo, being stubborn. "Now, just hurry up and drive!"

"Alright, alright!" As Azure continued driving, she felt a smile crawl through her face. Now, if only she would find a way for him to thank her again...

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, guys! I know I made Romeo a bit OOC and a bit cold, but that's his personality before the true Fairy Tail members return! Anyways, the next few chapters are gonna be about fun missions, but I have an announcement!<strong>

**Soon, there will be a Grand Magic Games, taking place one year before the Tenrou team comes back, and that year is the same year Azure joined Fairy Tail! Please suggest ideas for events or battles, because I'm getting prepared too!**


	5. Juliet White

**Heya guys! Sorry for all the trouble, but I had some difficulties trying to come up with some good request ideas!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

* * *

><p>"There's not a lot of jobs today, huh?" sighed Azure, scratching her head as she and Nab stared at the few requests on the Request Board. So far, for the past few weeks, not a single new request has been posted up due to Fairy's Tail's low reputation even when the members were trying so hard.<p>

"Thanks to that, we have a lot of freetime on our hands," said Reedus, who was currently painting a portrait.

Just then, Kinana ran into the guild, panting heavily while holding up a piece of paper. "Everyone! A new request arrived from the mail!"

"Ooh! Ooh! Can I see?" asked Azure excitedly. After being handed the request, she read it outloud, "'Dear anyone, once each year, there's a festival in Castilia, and I happen to own a theater for plays. Unfortunately, my plays aren't very good, so I am requesting anyone for auditioning for my play for the festival this year! From, the Castilia Theatre Manager, Mr. Banet. Reward: Half of what the payment from the customers would pay for the play.'"

"I'm not taking the request," said Warren, brushing it off. "If it's a play that's not very popular, we'd get really low money."

"Same here," agreed Bisca, Reedus, and Alzack, raising their hands.

"Oh come on!" complained Azure. "This is the only new, good request we've got! Even if we do get a low amount of money, at least we'll get a reward!"

"She's got a point. Alright, I'm in," said Laki, standing up and putting her book away.

"Alright! All we need is Vijeeter and we're all set! His dancing skills could come in handy!"

"Um...actually, Vijeeter broke his leg in a small accident and he's in the infirmary," spoke up Jet, who was sitting next to Droy.

"Oh no! What happened?" gasped Azure.

"He was dancing when he tripped and fell into a well," answered Droy. "He was lucky we were nearby."

"Oh. In that case, would you two-?"

"No."

"Figures. Oh, Samuel! Please, please, please, please-"

Samuel, who had been writing down something in his notepad, sighed and pushed his glasses up. "Yes, yes. Knowing you, you won't stop until I say yes."

"Alright!"

"You gave up too easily, you know that?" reminded Wakaba.

The Exceed got off his stool and looked up at the smoking man. "Last time she was like that, she didn't stop until she passed out, which was about 2 or 3 hours."

"Yikes."

Azure glanced at Laki and Samuel, then placed a hand under her chin, noticing something was missing. "Hmm...there's something missing...I know! We need a man with us!"

"Why?" asked Laki, crossing her arms.

"Because! To make the perfect play, you need a handsome, attractive, and strong man with muscles! One that's either the hero off to rescue the princess, or a main protagonist in something, I guess! Let's see..."

Azure glanced around the room for all the males. So far, there was Reedus, Alzack, Droy, Macao, Wakaba, Jet, Warren, and Nab.

Vijeeter was in the infirmary due to a bad injury, so he was automatically out.

Nab was a bit muscular, but he had a big belly, and Droy just didn't have the right body and appearance to fit in, so both weren't qualified.

Macao and Wakaba were just...old, so they were out of the question.

Romeo was at school, and Warren didn't exactly have the hero appearance.

That left...

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes later...<em>

'Jet! PLEASE come with us!" begged Azure, clinging onto the speed-magic user's leg as he was forced to drag his leg around when he was trying to go to the bathroom. Everyone watched in slight amusement as the water dragon slayer tried so hard to convince him.

"No! For the last time, no! And, let go! I gotta go to the bathroom!"

"Nope! I'm not letting go until you agree to go!"

Jet sighed, then an idea popped inside his head. "I know! Let me go and I'll join!"

"Really?"

Samuel shook his head in disbelief. "Azure, don't listen to him. It's obvious he's going to make a run for it as soon as he can."

"No! I won't! Just close your eyes and let go!"

"Hmm...Okay!" As soon as Azure did what Jet told her to do, Jet dashed outside using his High Speed magic, leaving some dust clouds behind.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Azure?" called out Bisca gently. "Jet's gone."

Azure slowly opened her eyes and stood up, frowning. "Aww! What did I do wrong to scare him off?"

_'You didn't even scare him, you moron!' _everyone in the guild thought, annoyed. They couldn't believe how ignorant and oblivious Azure was, despite the months she's spent with them.

Too stubborn to give up, Azure reverted to Reedus, who flinched a little. "Reedus! Please come! For the sake of Fairy Tail!"

"B-but...I uh...I have stage fright," whispered Reedus, twiddling his fingers.

"Oh, come on! That has to be the most lamest excuse-"

"Actually, he's telling the truth. Every time he was on stage, he would faint," defended Droy, eating something.

"Hmm...I see! Okay, never mind, Reedus!" assured Azure, patting him gently on his hat before walking towards Alzack. "Alzack..."

"Azure-"

"Before you can say no, at least hear me out! Please, you gotta participate for the play! Even if we get low money, it's for Fairy Tail!"

"Azure-"

"I'll do anything! I'll even hit myself in the head or be your slave or whatever! Just please come and be the hero in the play-"

Then, Azure felt Bisca grasping onto her shoulder gently, giving her a smile. "Azure, I believe Alzack wants to say something."

Alzack cleared his throat before smiling, chuckling a bit. "Yes, I'll join the play, for Fairy Tail."

The dark haired tomboy gasped and jumped to her feet, squealing. "Yay! Now you, me, Samuel, and Laki can go get more money for Fairy Tail! Then, you can get a kiss from the princess in the play and we'll still get half the money even if the play stinks!"

"WHAT?!" demanded Bisca, emitting some sort of dark and dangerous aura.

Samuel facepalmmed. _'Azure, sometimes you really need to shut that mouth of yours!' _

Every male in the room backed into a corner, staying far away from the enraged woman that could summon guns, except for Alzack, who was being held by the collar by Bisca. If anything, everyone felt sorry for the married man as he was crying comical waterfalls from his eyes.

"B-Bisca, dear, calm down. She was only jokin-"

"_Darling. _We're going home. NOW." Saying that, Bisca began to drag her husband away with slow, but effecting stomping steps.

"A-Azure! Don't worry! It's not your fault! It's-! I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like I can help-!"

**SLAM! **The guild members jumped when Bisca slammed the guild doors shut, silence soon filing the air as a small breeze flew by.

"...Um...what?" wondered Azure, tilting her head in confusion.

Then, the door to the infirmary opened, revealing Max with a bewildered expression. "Uh...can someone tell me what all the noise was all about?"

"Max? What are you doing here?" asked Samuel.

"I was taking care of Vijeeter's injury. But enough about me. What happened here?"

Azure's face brightened up, seeing how there was another man to take with. Max was a bit attractive after all. "Max. How would you like to go on an super easy request with me, Samuel, and Laki? The reward pays good."

"Really? That's surprisingly reliable. And what's the request about?"

"Oh, all we have to do is help this guy perform some play at this theatre. Apparently, his um...workers got into an accident, so he's holding auditions for more workers, and his theatre is really, really famous!"

_'LIAR!' _Everyone thought except for Azure and Max, who didn't even know.

"Oh, I see. And all we have to do is perform a play and he pays us big? Sounds easy enough. About how much does he pay us?"

"About...8,000 Jewels each!"

"You are such a liar!" shouted Warren, irritated as a tick mark showed. "Warren, check out the reward from the request paper!"

Azure quickly hid the paper behind her back. "No, no! I think that Max knows well enough that I wouldn't lie about something this easy!"

"Hmm...well, either way, I'll help out," offered Max, causing everyone's jaws to drop in shock.

_'I can't believe it! This actually worked!' _thought Samuel, collecting his composure. "Are you sure about this, Max?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm a complete idiot for buying off a lie."

* * *

><p><em>Later, on a train... <em>

"Gaaaah! I am such a complete idiot!" **BAM! **

"Ow!" cried out Azure, rubbing the spot where Max hit her in the head. "That hurt!"

"Good! You deserved it for tricking me!"

_'You know, maybe I should help her,' _thought Samuel, reading a book. _'But at the same time, she deserves this. Heh.' _

"Oh come on! It's not like I did anything bad!" complained Azure.

"What do you mean?" demanded Max, eye twitching. "You lied about the reward money! It's totally low!"

"Not exactly! I mean, if we do a good job, and lots of customers come, the theatre will have lots and lots of money, and the best part is that we get half of it!"

"That's IF we do a good job," spoke up Laki. Doing a play might not be bad, but the issue was the customers. According to the request, the play wasn't very popular, and so, very few customers. At the very least, they get paid.

"We will do a good job! I'm actually a good singer!" bragged Azure happily. "I'll be able to help out a lot in the play!"

"For once, she's actually telling the truth," commented Samuel.

"Thanks! ...Hey!"

* * *

><p><em>Much later, at the theatre... <em>

"Wow! This place looks so grand!" awed Azure, astonished as she and her group followed Mr. Banet, the requester, inside his theatre. Inside the theatre, there was a huge stage with some stage props in the back, some rooms that lead to dressing rooms, and so forth.

"Huh, it is kinda nice," admitted Laki. 'But I don't see why people don't like coming here."

"Maybe it's just the bad acting, or maybe I mispelled some things in the script," wondered Mr. Banet, taking out the script for the play.

"Hey, can I see it for a second?" Max took the script and read the lines, going through the pages. "'You're a piece of trash.' 'No, you're a piece of trash.' ...What is this?"

"It's my script!"

"No wonder people don't like these plays! Your scripts suck! Even I can do a better job at this!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Hey, let's all calm down!" assured Azure, getting in between the playwright and Max. "Mr. Banet? If we help you rewrite the script and help perform, will you increase our payment, even a little?"

"I doubt we'll even get much money anyways," spoke up Samuel.

"Still, we should go for it! What do you say, Mr. Banet?"

It didn't take long for Mr. Banet to agree. "Alright, fine. Now, we have to decide the roles you all are playing right after we rewrite the script."

"Hold on!" announced the small Exceed, Samuel, using his wings to fly up to everyone's level. "If we're going to do this, we need to attract customers. You already said that your plays aren't good, so we need a lot of people. How are we going to do that?"

"Hmm...well, we should put up posters to let other people know that a play is starting here, considering the festival is next week," suggested Laki as Azure began looking around for something.

The young Dragon Slayer found a Sorcerer Magazine lying on a chair, seeing the cover of an handsome young man with spiky brownish blond hair. She picked the magazine up and ran towards the others. 'Hey! Who's this guy?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's Hibiki from Blue Pegasus. He's very popular there," answered Laki, glancing at the cover.

Azure glanced from the magazine, then to Max, then the magazine, and back to the sand user before grinning. "I have an idea how to get customers here!"

* * *

><p><em>A few days later... <em>

"Hey, Hibiki!" called out Ren and Eve, running around in the guild, spotting their teammate, who was talking to his girlfriend, Jenny.

"Hmm? What is it, guys?" asked Hibiki, stopping his conversation with his girlfriend.

"Why didn't you tell us you were in a play?!" demanded Ren, holding up a poster of Hibiki's face.

**The play, Juliet White, will be featured in the festival in Castilia right in the Castilia Theatre at 3:00! Actors also include Hibiki Lates from Blue Pegasus! **

"EEEHHH?!" Hibiki snatched the poster and stared at it, shocked. He never particpated, or even heard of this before! "I don't remember auditioning for this!"

"That is strange," agreed Jenny. "Maybe we should check it out later on that day just to see who's playing as...well, you, Hibiki."

"Whoever did this must seriously have guts. It's like they're trying to tarnish your name," mumbled Ren to Hibiki.

* * *

><p><em>On the day of the play... <em>

"Hmm...not too bad," muttered Laki, examining herself in the mirror in the dressing room. Right now, she was wearing a long, strapless, velvet colored dress with white gloves, and her hair, which was tied up in a ponytail, was more curly and wavy, making her into a beautiful princess.

"Ahhh...much better!"Azure showed herself in front of Laki, wearing the dark robes that was part of her evil queen/witch part, only, underneath the robes were her regular, casual clothing she always wears during jobs or at Fairy Tail.

"Azure! The play's going to begin soon, and you're wearing your casual clothing underneath those robes?!"

"Hey, nobody's going to notice! Besides, I HATE dresses, and skirts for that matter! Just be glad I'm not wearing my hat!"

A knock on their dressing room door alerted the two girls. "Excuse me? Are you two girls ready?" asked Mr. Banet.

"Coming!" called Azure, putting her hoodie over her head before turning to Laki. "Let's go, Laki!"

"*sigh* Fine!"

After the two girls exited the room, they had to admit, Max looked almost smiliar to Hibiki. Max's sandy-colored hair sorta matched Hibiki's brownish-blondish hair color, and he did make his hair a bit spiky. The sand-magic user wore a night-blue prince-like uniform with a fake sword at his side, making him look a lot like Hibiki.

"You look really handsome, Max!" complimented Azure, clapping her hands. "Now, no one will tell the difference between you and the real Hibiki!"

"Thanks, I guess."

'Ahem! Places, everyone!" announced Mr. Banet. "I have to admit, Azure! I honestly never expected you would add Hibiki's face onto the posters and lie to people that the real Hibiki would be here!"

"Hey, it's not lying! I'm just borrowing the truth!"

'Same thing as lying, idiot!" said Max before bumping her on the head with his fist. "Where's Samuel, anyways?"

"Right here," replied Samuel, flying up to the group.

"Why aren't you in costume?" asked Laki.

"I'm the narrator, remember? I don't have to dress up."

Meanwhile, a large crowd, mostly Hibiki fangirls, were gathering and sitting down in seats, mumbling to each other and squealing about Hibiki.

"Oh my God! I can't believe it!"

"Bets that Hibiki-kun is going to be the prince!"

"Yeah!"

"Hurry up and bring my sweet Hibiki here! Kya!~"

The real Hibiki, along with the Trimens and Jenny, were reserved in the back seats, so that none of Hibiki's fangirls spot them and cause a commotion. "I wonder what sort of play this is going to be," said Eve, interested.

"Well, the title is 'Juliet White' so it's probably a combination of Juliet and Snow White," answered Jenny. "But still, I can't wait! Ooh! It's starting!"

From the stage, the lights shined upon Samuel, who was holding up some papers, which happened to be the script, considering he refused to memorize the 'ridiculous' script and had to read them as part of being a narrator. "Welcome to the play, 'Juliet White.'"

"Hey, is that someone in a cat costume, or is that an actual, talking cat?"

'Maybe it's a talking cat. I mean, that Natsu guy had this weird, talking cat."

"Oh, and that cute girl, Wendy, had a talking cat too!"

"I wonder when they started recruiting talking cats?"

"Hey, is it just me, or is that an Exceed?" wondered Ren.

"I'd guess probably an Exceed," said Ren, crossing his arms. "This is turning out to be interesting."

Samuel ignored the murmurs about him from the audience and continued reading his part as the curtains slowly opened to reveal the beautiful Laki, who was supposed to be playing as the princess, Juliet White. "Princess Juliet White was beloved by all creatures and kind to everyone else, her beauty surprassing that of a goddess. But, meanwhile, back at the castle..."

Just as the Exceed said that, the curtains closed, and under a minute, they opened up against, revealing a dark setting, a glass mirror, and Azure playing as the evil queen. When it was her turn to shine, Azure whipped out a microphone she had took from the props and crackled loudly, 'AHAHAHA! I'M THE QUEEN! I'M THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN OF THEM ALL! BOW BEFORE ME, YOU MONGRELS!"

_'Azure! That was way too loud!' _thought Samuel, covering his ears in annoyance. He wasn't the only one to complain, as the others in the audience complained that the queen was too loud, or should quiet down.

"Azure! You don't use the microphone!" hissed Laki, who was off-stage.

"Oh, sorry!" Azure tossed the microphone to Laki, who managed to catch it in time. The dakr-haired dragon slayer cleared her throat before continuing her role. "Mirror, mirror! On the wall! Tell me who's the most loveliest of all?"

Mr. Banet, who was playing as the magic mirror offstage, spoke as loudly as he could, "You may be lovely, my queen, but the loveliest of all is Juliet White!"

"What?! Impossible! Fine, if that is the case..." Azure pulled out an wand from her robe pocket. "With the power of my magical wand, I shall enchant Juliet White and command her to do my bidding! And, I shall make her as ugly as possible! Yes!"

After the curtains closed to change into a different setting, showing Laki on top of a fake tower, Samuel began reading the script. "Meanwhile, Princess Juliet White was enjoying her own free time, when a handsome prince came out of the blue."

"Eek! It's Hibiki-kun!"

"I really want to see him as a prince! My prince-sama!~"

_'God, are all fangirls like this?' _wondered Samuel as Max stepped into the stage, trying to impose as the prince, or rather, more like Hibiki.

"That's him? That's supposed to the 'Hibiki' from the posters?" wondered Ren as the fangirls screamed with joy.

"I do have to admit, he does look a bit like Hibiki," admitted Jenny, clinging onto the real Hibiki's arm. "But, he's nowhere near like the real one!~"

Max, playing as the prince, glanced up at Laki and acted like he was surprised. "My, what a beautiful princess you are."

"KYAA! HE'S SO HANDSOME!" squealed the fangirls, love in their eyes.

Just then, two guards made of wood approached the stage, wielding wooden spears. They were created from Laki's Wood-Make magic under instructions from Mr. Banet for dramatic effect. Right now, they were being controlled by Laki, who was trying to hide her magic from the audience.

The prince Max noticed the wooden guards and got into a fighting stance, taking out his fake sword. "Don't worry, princess! I will fight off these guards and as a reward, we shall talk...ugh...privately!" _'That line sounded SO wrong!' _

"Aah! Hibiki-sama is going to fight!"

"Go! Go!"

"Sand Slash!" Using the sword, Max slashed at the air, shooting out a scythe-shape blast of sand from his own magic. The spell was enough to slash through the wooden soldiers, but caused some confusion from some of the fans.

"Hey, is that really supposed to be Hibiki-sama's magic?"

'Doesn't he use a different kind of magic?"

"Maybe he recently discovered a new kind of magic."

"Sand Magic? Hey, I recognize that girl! She was from Fairy Tail!" gasped Eve.

"Oh?" Using his Archive Magic, Hibiki began searching through the Fairy Tail member information before finding identical pictures of the actors, who were now talking to each other romantically. "Ah, found it. Apparently, that young lady acting as the princess is a woman named Laki, and the other guy that's pretending to be me is someone named Max."

"Ooh! How dare that Max person use my Hibiki's identity like that?!" growled Jenny, eye twitching in anger.

After the prince and Princess Juliet White talked to each other about running away together and leaving the stage, the curtain closed, expecting to stay that way for a few minutes while everyone prepares for the next act when they encountered a problem.

"What do you mean you didn't have a golem ready?!" cried out Mr. Banet angrily at Laki.

"I'm sorry! I can make a wood golem, but it's pretty hard, and it'll take me time!"

"Crap, what do we do then?" questioned Max, rubbing the back of his neck. "We need the golem for the final battle for the play. We need some sort of distraction!"

"I can distract the audience, for a while, anyways," spoke up Azure before turning to Samuel. "Samuel! Play the piano! We're going to sing!"

"Wait, you can?" wondered Mr. Banet. "Wait, how did you know I have a piano here?"

"I saw it around the corner a while ago. Now, let's go! Laki, you go and finish making the wood golem, while me and Samuel prepare for a distraction!"

* * *

><p><em>A few minutes later... <em>

"Come on! Bring out Hibiki-sama already!"

"What's taking so long?!"

"Hurry up!"

"My, my. The fans sure are getting impatient," sighed Hibiki before noticing the curtains were starting to open. However, the background was completely dark, and the only light was shown downwards at the evil queen alone.

"Huh? What's going on?" wondered Ren, taking notice as the audience soon became silent to see what was going on.

Then, a quiet melody began playing from a piano offstage, the piano being played by Samuel. Azure, still donned in her evil queen costume, tilted her head down a bit, took a deep breath, and let it all out before singing in a soft, but loudly in a somewhat angelic voice.

_Mirror, tell me something..._

_Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

_Mirror, tell me something,_

_Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

_Fear of what's inside me,_

_Tell me can a heart be turned to stone? _

As the piano kept playing, Azure remained silent, listening carefully to the rhythm of the song as she prepared to sing very soon. In the meantime, the audience was shocked to even utter a word while listening to the beautiful song. They had thought the evil queen was supposed to be, well, evil! But now, here she was, singing beautifully. In a way, they felt sorry for the queen, as well as nostalgic.

"Despite playing as the villain, she sings very good," commented Ren, impressed.

"I really want to meet who's under that hood of hers!" said Eve, excited.

"Yes! What excellent singing!" agreed Ichiya, sparkles glittering around him.

Then, Azure started humming the keys outloud while Samuel continued playing the song. Lots of people closed their eyes, letting the melodic music flowed through their ears like the soft wind.

_Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?_

_Save me from the things I see! _

_I can keep it from the world,_

_Why won't you let it hide from me?_

_Mirror, mirror, tell me something,_

_Who's the loneliest of all?_

_I'm the LONELIEST of all... _

Azure continued to sing the last part's melody until the piano drifted off. Once the song was over, she lifted up her head and opened her eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxing her shoulders.

Then, the audience started to applaud, the fangirls cheering and crying out for joy. Even the Blue Pegasus members were happily clapping for her performance as Azure let a grin run through her face under her hood before bowing her head gratefully.

Suddenly, a giant wood monster crashed into the stage behind Azure, followed with an "I'm sorry!" from Laki. Max rushed into the stage, causing many fangirls to squeal and scream loudly.

"What's happening?!" hissed Azure, panicking.

"Laki accidentally sent the wood golem right here!" whispered Max, taking out his fake sword. "Oh wait, I forgot this was fake. Damnit!"

An idea popped into Azure's head before she shouted, "Oh, prince! You have come to help me defeat this golem! It's the most powerful being of all the magical lands! I swear I will be good and no longer harm Juliet White if you help me defeat this thing!"

"Wait, what?! That's not part of the script!" reminded Max.

"Just play along!"

"H-hey! What am I supposed to do?!" whispered Laki, who was hiding behind the curtains.

"Maybe you should control the golem so it can attack us. Let's give the audience what they want," suggested Azure before taking a fighting stance.

Max sighed, knowing there was no turning back now. "Alright, fine. But if anything goes wrong, it's your fault!"

"Whoa! The hero and the villain working together!"

"That's so cool!"

"A good play indeed!"

"Sand Blast!" Concentrating sand around his fist, Max then throws a massive blast of sand towards the golem. However, the spell was only enough to knock the golem back and not fall to the ground.

Expression turning cold and serious, Azure emotionlessly charged at the golem after Max's assault, leaping into the air. She threw a kick at the golem's arm, quickly finding out it was too hard before launching herself off the golem and next to Max.

"Azur-er, Evil queen! Let's combine our magic together!" shouted Max, gathering sand around his palms. Azure silently nodded before standing back to concentrate on a magic spell.

"Hey, are they about to prepare a unison raid?" gasped Jenny, surprised.

"Sand Spear!"

"Water Dragon's Roar!"

Simultaneously, both mages combined their sand and water dragon slayer magic together, forming some sort of sand twister with water particles that destroyed the wood golem. At the sight of the destroyed monster, the audience cheered for their victory.

"Whoa...was it just me, or is the one playing as the queen a Dragon Slayer?" said Ren.

"I think I clearly heard her say 'Water Dragon's Roar,'" said Jenny. "But it must be our imagination. I mean, not to be insulting, but no one would ever join Fairy Tail now since it's...decreased, much less a Dragon Slayer."

"Maybe, but...I was probably hearing things too," said Eve. However, Ichiya didn't seemed convinced, seeing how he was sensing a very large amount of magic and hostility from the young girl playing the evil queen.

Azure turned to Max and winked, reminding him that they were still in the play. She cleared her throat before speaking, "As promised, I shall not curse Princess Juliet White any longer! I shall forever redeem my sins by becoming good and helping others!"

Samuel appeared back to the spot where he narrated. 'And so, uh...the evil queen became the good queen that helped others, and the prince and Juliet White married and lived happily ever after. The end."

Afterwards, the audience applauded and cheered as the curtains closed and the lights turned on. Jenny turned to Hibiki and asked, 'So, what are you going to do to Fairy Tail, Hibiki?"

"Hmm? Nothing. They haven't done anything wrong, even if they did use my name. Plus, the singing was a nice touch."

* * *

><p><em>The next day... <em>

_Fear of what's inside me,_

_Tell me can a heart be turned to stone? _

As the small Fairy Tail group were returning back to Magnolia, Azure kept on singing the same sing over and over which soon became annoying to everyone. "Okay, Azure?" interrupted Max. "The song was beautiful at first, but now it's starting to get annoying."

"Boo! You're no fun!"

"Well, at least we got a huge reward from the request," said Laki, trying to brighten things up.

"Yeah! We should go together as a group again!" suggested Azure.

'As long as you don't lie about the request or the reward again," said Max.

"Oh come on! It was one time!"

_'Are me and Laki the only mature ones now?' _pondered Samuel.

* * *

><p><strong>Finished at long last! And on the first day of November no less! If I finished this yesterday, it would have been Halloween! Anyways, the song Azure was singing was Mirror Mirror, by RWBY, if you're interested! Read and review!<strong>


	6. Babysitting Blues

**Hey, guys! I'll try to focus more on Fairy Tail, but it's kinda hard to come up with some ideas! But, here's a bit of some Romeo x Azure!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

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><p>"Grrr..." Azure stared down at the glass of milk, eyeing it with spite and hatred as she sat at a table inside the guild.<p>

"Azure-chan! You didn't drink your milk!" Kinana scolded lightly, poking her in the forehead.

"I'm not drinking it! Yuck!"

"You'd think that after the 50th time she served milk to her, she'd learn," mumbled Max, who was watching the whole thing. Kinana had cooked Azure breakfast as usual since Azure was living here with Samuel, but each time Kinana served milk, Azure would always refuse.

Romeo, who was preparing to go to school and currently talking to Bisca and Alzack, noticed Kinana and Azure's argument. "What are they doing?" the boy wondered.

"Oh, they're just arguing about milk again. Apparently, Azure hates it," answered Alzack, waving it off.

"Why does she hate it?"

"Something about it being from cow pee, which is...a gross way to describe it, but isn't exactly true."

Romeo rolled his eyes and walked over to Azure, who was still complaining about the milk. He grabbed the glass of milk and shoved it down her throat, forcing her to swallow it and almost choke, much to everyone's shock.

"Blah! Gah!" Azure ran towards the bathroom, closing the door before the sound of splashing water could be heard. Seconds later, she opened the door and stomped up to Romeo, water dripping from her chin. "Baka! What was that for?!"

"Hmph. You wouldn't drink your milk, so I had no choice but to force you to drink it, Usagi."

"Grrr! I will get you back for this, Romeo!"

"Whatever. I have to get to school. See ya." Ignoring Azure's protests against him, Romeo left the guild to get to his destination.

"Ugh! That annoying, little, overconfident brat!" growled Azure, stomping around and frailing her arms around. This was just one of her ways to release her anger in a non-violent way, and slightly amusing to the others.

"Azure-chan! Can you come here for a second?" called Bisca.

"Coming!" Azure rushed to the young couple and said down next to them happily, swinging her legs. "What is it? What is it?"

_'Wow, one minute she's mad, and the second, she's all happy-go-lucky. Weird,' _thought Droy and Jet, sweatdropping together.

Alzack chuckled at the young girl's curiosity. "Alright, settle down. Me and Bisca have to go on a job together, so I was wondering if you could babysit Asuka?"

And just like that, the guild was filled of bursting excitement.

"OH MY GOD! YES! YES! WHEN?! WHERE?! I WANNA PLAY WITH HER! CAN I?! CAN I?!"

Her outburst could be heard by Romeo, who was still heading down the hills to get to his magic school. He scratched his ears, winching as Azure's squeals were still heard. "Jeez, just how loud is the Usagi anyways?!"

"...Are you done?" asked Max, who was covering his ears like everyone else.

"Yup! Got it all outta my system!" replied Azure happily, patting the area where her heart should be.

"Right, well, let's go to our home. Asuka's still sleeping, so let's enter inside quietly," suggested Bisca, gently taking the girl's arm. She and Alzack had been planning for Azure to babysit their daughter for quite a while, due to Azure always playing with Asuka and making her happy all the time whenever they spent time together.

Arriving at their home, Bisca unlocks the door and calls out, "Asuka-chan! We're home!"

"Mama! Papa!" The little girl rushed down the stairs to greet her parents with a cheerful look on her face.

"Hmm? Asuka-chan, weren't you sleeping?" asked Alzack, kneeling down to his daughter.

"I woke up! But Mama and Papa were gone, so I went and brushed my teeth all by myself!"

"Wow! Good job, Asuka-chan!" cheered Azure, clapping.

"Oh! Hi, Azure onee-chan!"

The gun magic couple were surprised at Azure's nickname. Sure it's been a few months since Azure join the guild, but already, Asuka's addressing her as a big sister? Wow, now they knew full well where to get a babysitter.

"KYA!~ YOU'RE SO CUTE, ASUKA-CHAN!~" Azure squealed, hugging Asuka and rubbing her face against hers lightly, admiring the small girl.

Afterwards, Bisca gave Azure a list of what needed to be done and how to take care of Asuka. There were chores like bathing Asuka, feeding her, taking walks with her to the park, and when her bedtime schedule. She also included that if Asuka was sick or gotten injured, Azure had to take her to the guild so that the others could give her the medicine and let her rest in the infirmary.

With all that said, Bisca kissed her daughter goodbye and said, "We'll be back by tommorow, so until then, listen to Azure-chan, okay?"

"Hai!"

After the couple left, Azure read the list over, knowing full well what to do first. "Asuka-chan! Are you hungry? Want to eat something?"

Just the sound of the little girl's stomach growling answered her question. "Yup! I'm sooo hungry!"

"Okay! Let's go inside, and I'll cook you something to eat!"

"Yay!"

Carrying Asuka to the play room, where there were toys scattered around, Azure placed the girl down on the ground so she could play with them before walking towards the kitchen. She opened the fridge, and the only ingredients she could use to make a good breakfast were some vegetables and eggs.

About half an hour later, Asuka was playing with a stuffed animal and a small ball when she heard Azure calling out for her. She dropped everything she had and rushed to the kitchen, where a small plate full of an vegetable egg omelette along with a glass of milk was waiting for her.

"Mmm! Smells so good! Thank you, Azure-oneechan!" Asuka sat down on a stool and took a bite of her breakfast before her eyes lit up. "Wow! So delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it, Asuka-chan!" said Azure, taking off Asuka's hat and lightly ruffling her hair before placing the hat back on.

* * *

><p><em>A few hours later... <em>

"Here, Romeo! Lunch!" called Kinana, placing the boy's meal in front of him. Romeo always returned back to the guild for food whenever it was lunchtime before returning back to his magic school.

"Thanks," he spoke quietly before taking a bite out of his lunch.

"...And I keep telling you, quit dancing! It's so weird!" complained Samuel as he, Vijeeter, and Nab entered the guild. They had been on a job together and both Nab and Samuel were constantly talking about Vijeeter's ridiculous dancing, which he was doing just now.

"Hey, so how was the job?" Jet called, welcoming the trio back.

"Well, other than Samuel's long lectures and Vijeeter's dancing, it went well," replied Nab, sighing.

"Does anyone know where Azure is?" asked Samuel, flying around the room, looking for his energetic partner.

"Oh, she's babysitting Asuka," answered Wakaba, currently smoking.

"Wait, what?!" both Samuel and Romeo, who had risen up from his seat and forgotten about his lunch.

"What's the big deal? It's not like there's any trouble or anything. Besides, Azure loves the girl," said Macao, not seeing what the problem is.

"Grrr!" Romeo rushed out of the guild, obviously troubled.

"Ugh, whoever thought the idea of Azure babysitting is a moron," groaned Samuel, shaking his head. "Knowing Azure, she might squeeze the girl to death. Or, she might take huge risks, like dropping her into a river just to teach her how to swim. She's completely irresponsible without me!"

"Come on, you're overexaggerating," chuckled Wakaba, even though he did kinda believe Samuel a little and was fearful for Asuka's life.

"...You guys are stupid. This conversation is stupid. I'm leaving." With that said, Samuel flew out of the guild in a hurry.

* * *

><p><em>Later, with Azure and Asuka... <em>

"Vooom! Voom! Voooom! More! More!"

"Haha! Okay!"

Azure was playing airplane with Asuka, with the Water Dragon Slayer picking up Asuka by the waist, lifting her up, and swinging her around while running in the park, acting as the airplane for Asuka. The little girl seemed to be enjoying this game out of all the other games she would play with Azure or her parents.

Suddenly, Asuka was snatched out of Azure's hands and into Romeo's arms, surprising Azure. "Romeo! Hey, what'd you do that for?!"

"What were you doing?! You could have dropped her!" yelled Romeo, placing the girl into the ground safefully.

"What are you saying? I had a tight grip on her! No way was she going to fall! Anyways, what are you doing here?"

"I was...just walking around! And I saw you and Asuka! I thought you were going to drop her!" Actually, the first part was a bit of a lie. Romeo was actually searching for Azure and Asuka so that Azure doesn't hurt the young girl.

Truth be told, Romeo doesn't like nor trust Azure very much ever since she joined the guild. Probably because she was always too cheerful that it kinda sicken Romeo in a way, and maybe the fact that she kept mentioning she was a Dragon Slayer. Also because she's trying to find out if Gray Fullbuster is her big brother, since her last name is Fullbuster.

"I was not going to drop her, stupid!" Azure turned to Asuka, who was looking at both her and Romeo curiously. "Asuka! Were you having fun before Romeo here interrupted things?"

"Yup! Yup! Azure onee-chan was swinging me around! Vooom!"

"..." While Asuka did admit to having a great time with the older girl, Romeo still didn't trust Azure one bit.

Then, Azure felt Romeo grabbed the collar of her jacket and dragged her close ho his face. "H-hey! What are you doing?!"

"Did you hurt Asuka? If you did, I'll never forgive you," threatened Romeo coldly.

"I didn't! Jeez, lighten up, will ya?"

"Ahem. Am I interrupting something?" Both Romeo and Azure turned their heads and saw Samuel, watching them with an amused expression on his face. "Because, I can come back later if you want me to-"

Realizing the position he and Azure were in, Romeo pushed Azure away, causing her to fall to the grass before turning away, crossing his arms. "N-nothing happened! That's all!"

"Ow! Didn't need to push me," mumbled Azure to herself, taking off her hat and ruffling her head to get some of the grass off before placing her long hair back in her hat and putting it on top of her head. "So, what are you doing here, Samuel?"

"Me? I was looking for you! I heard that you were taking care of Asuka, so I got worried! I thought you would be irresponsible and risk her life!"

'Exactly!" For once, Romeo had to agree with the Exceed.

Azure picked up Asuka, carrying her safely in her arms while making a pouty expression at her two friends. "You two need to trust me more! Even I'm not stupid enough to risk an innocent, cute, little, adorable girl's life!"

"Whatever! I'll take Asuka back to her parents now. Your job here's done!" declared Romeo, grabbing Azure's arm.

"Hey, let go!" Yanking her arm away from the fire-user, Azure stuck her tongue childishly at Romeo. 'And for your information, Bisca and Alzack entrusted me to take care of Asuka-chan! They're not returning until tommorow! If you don't believe me, ask the others!"

Asuka, who was confused by what was going on, glanced around and saw an ice cream stand nearby. "Azure-chan! I want ice cream! Can we PLEASE get ice cream?"

"Okay! Since you've been such a good little girl all this time, I'll get you ice cream!" agreed Azure, skipping towards the ice cream man.

"Hold it, Usagi!" called Romeo, grabbing the back of Azure's overcoat. "We're not done talking!"

"Yes we are. I already told you everything I knew. Come on, Asuka-chan. Let's go leave these two idiots behind." Saying that, Azure pulled her overcoat away from Romeo's grasp and continued towards the ice cream man.

Sighing, Samuel followed the two just in case. Snapping out of it, Romeo picked up the pace, grumbling to himself. Once she was at the ice cream stand, Azure put Asuka to the ground and asked, 'Asuka-chan! What flavor do you want?"

"Chocolate!"

"Alright then, little miss," said the ice cream man, about to scoop up some chocolate ice cream into a cone.

"No, strawberry!"

"Oh, okay-"

"No, chocolate! No, strawberry!"

Azure already knew the solution to this problem. "I'll take two scoops of strawberry and chocolate, please! Oh, and some vanilla in another cone please!"

After the Water Dragon Slayer paid for both ice cream cones, she handed the ice cream cone with the strawberry and chocolate to Asuka. "Yay! Yay!" she cheered before licking her ice cream.

"Here, Samuel! Your favorite," offered Azure, bending down to give her cat friend the ice cream.

"As much as I love some, Azure, I'm afraid that I just ate lunch, and I do not wish to spoil my appetite," the Exceed politely refused.

"Huh, okay!" The dark-haired girl turned to Romeo, and before she could ask, he simply looked away, annoying her.

"WAAAAAAHHHHHH!" A little boy a bit younger than Asuka began crying, holding an empty looking ice cream cone, which the ice cream was already on the ground. A woman, possibly his mother, was trying to comfort the boy, but was failing to do so.

Azure walked over to the woman and held out her ice cream. "Miss? Is that your son? Here, take my ice cream. That boy might need it."

The woman seemed surprised by the actions of the young boy despite not knowing she was a girl. "Are you sure?"

"Yup! I like vanilla, but not that much! Besides, your son probably needs it more than me anyways! If I wanted ice cream, I can always buy another one!"

"Well, in that case, thank you, young man," thanked the mother before taking the ice cream cone and handing it to her son, who stopped crying. "Dear, please say thank you to this boy."

"Okay! Thank you, mister!" said the boy, showing a cheeky grin. Azure nodded and smiled before walking back to Samuel, Romeo, and Asuka, who had been watching the whole thing.

Romeo was stunned. He didn't think Azure would-well, actually, she has done a few selfless acts, but this was one of the few times she's been generous and kind to others, like that little boy who was crying earlier. In fact, he thinks that his opinion of her has improved.

Samuel let a small, faint smile run through his face as he pushed his glasses up. He had kinda expected this from Azure, helping out the weak when needed, like just now. Throughout all the years he's been with her, he hasn't seen her go bad, except for all the times whenever she would pull pranks or mess around in a childish way. Other than those times, she would never turn evil in a bad way.

"Azure onee-chan! Look! I finished all my ice cream!" announced Asuka, holding up her empty ice cream cone while her face was smeared of brown and pink colors. Actually, the insides of the ice cream cone had some melted ice cream, but the little girl didn't care about that.

Asuka started to get woozy and felt sick in the stomach as she kept stumbling back and forth. "A-Asuka-chan! Are you okay?!" asked Azure, grabbing hold of her shoulders.

"O-Oi! Usagi! What did you do?!" demanded Romeo, worried for the small girl's sake.

"Oh come on! How could this have possible been my fault?!"

"If you two are done with your lovers quarrel, then you better hurry up and get Asuka back home," advised Samuel. "She looks ready to puke anytime."

"Ah! You're right! Gomen, Asuka-chan!" cried out Azure, picking up the small, pale-faced girl before running, forcing Samuel to follow her.

"Hey! We're not having a lovers quarrel!" shouted Romeo, red-faced as he chased after them.

* * *

><p><em>Later, at Bisca and Alzack's home... <em>

"BLEEHHHH!"

"There, there, Asuka-chan," assured Azure, trying to comfort the poor girl as she wiped the puke from her mouth and chin. She felt bad, knowing full well she was responsible for the girl's health. She touched Asuka's forehead, because before it was hot, but now, it seemed to have cool down immensely.

As Azure was taking care of Asuka, both Romeo and Samuel were enjoying some lemonade they got from Bisca and Alzack's refrigerator. Samuel decided now would be the time to confront Romeo. "You know, Azure's really good with kids."

"Uh-huh. But I can do better," replied Romeo quietly.

"...Why do you hate Azure so much anyways? Other than being a bit annoying all the time, she's never done anything bad to you."

Romeo set his cup on the table and turned to the Exceed. "Look, I know you're trying to defend her because she's your friend, but she's not a friend to me."

Samuel sighed. "Typical. Maybe if you tried to spend less time hating her and judging her, and more time spending time with her, you'll see she's not that bad of a person. You might get along if you gave her a chance."

"..." Romeo said nothing in response, turning away with a frown look. Both males waited for Azure and Asuka to come out, but after half an hour, both were beginning to worry.

"What's taking them so long?" murmured Samuel, glancing at the clock. He heard Romeo standing up from his seat and walking upstairs, where both Asuka and her babysitter were. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm checking up on Asuka. I don't trust the Usagi with her."

_'Wait a second,' _the glasses-wearing Exceed thought, remembering something. _'A few minutes ago, I heard water running, so I assume both girls were in the bathroom. If that's the case-!' _

"AAAAAHHHH! WHAT THE HELL, ROMEO?!"

"E-EXCUSE ME!"

"...That idiot."

When Romeo, Azure, and Asuka entered the kitchen, they all had different expressions on their faces. Romeo's face was the color of a tomato, and he was looking down in shame. Azure's hair was still a little wet, but more importantly, she looked annoyed with tints of pink in her cheek. Asuka was just being curious and had no idea what was going on.

Samuel simply enjoyed his cup of lemonade, smirking. "So, how was the water?"

"S-SHUT UP, SAMUEL!" yelled Romeo, still embarrassed.

"Oh! It was warm! Asuka-chan and I enjoyed our bath together!" replied Azure cheerfully, her mood lightened up.

Samuel and Romeo sweatdropped. Did this girl even remember what happened just a few minutes ago? Either she forgot, or she's trying to forget the fact it even happened.

"So, Asuka-chan! What do you want to do now? There's still time before we eat dinner, so do you want to play something?"

Asuka shook her head at the Water Dragon Slayer. 'Why does Romeo nii-chan call you Usagi, Azure onee-chan? I have a doll named Usagi-chan, so why doesn't he call you Usagi-chan?"

"Oh yeah, come to think of it, you always call Azure by 'Usagi.' What's up with that?" Samuel questioned, also wondering the same thing.

"That's..." Romeo looked a bit hesitant to answer.

"Ooh! I know why!" said Azure, raising her hand. "You see-"

"Usagi! Don't you dare say anything! Or else..." Romeo tried to look threatening, but he was failing due to the red faced expression he had on.

"Hehehe!" There was a mischevious glint in Azure's eyes as she continued, secretly wanting payback on Romeo for all the times he was rude to her. "You see, Asuka-chan..."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback...<em>

_"Hmmmm..." As Azure was humming to herself, she was exploring outside of the small guild when she saw a small, injured baby rabbit. She quickly cradled the poor animal in her arms and cooed, "Oh, you poor thing! Don't worry! I'll take care of you!"_

_Meanwhile, Romeo was taking a walk when he heard faint giggles nearby. Curious, he decided to check it out while hiding somewhere. Peeking out of his hiding spot, he saw Azure taking care of a baby rabbit with a carrot and the water from the small pond._

_"Romeo! I know you're out there! Come on out!"_

_Surprised, Romeo stepped out of his hiding place and approached Azure, who was still cradling the baby rabbit. "...How did you know where I was?"_

_"Easy! I heard your movements and smell your close by!" Azure walked towards Romeo and lifted up the baby rabbit. "You want to pet him?"_

_"...No, I'm alright. Usagi."_

_"Usagi...? Is that my new nickname? Isn't that word for rabbit?" Azure smiled happily. "Okay! At least it's better than 'idiot, moron, or dumbie!'"_

* * *

><p><em>End of flashback... <em>

"...Damn you, Usagi."

"Haha! You're welcome!" replied Azure.

"That wasn't a compliment!"

"I know!~"

Asuka looked back and forth at the two. "Are Azure onee-chan and Romeo onii-chan married?"

"MARRIED?!" both exclaimed, their faces pink with embarrassment.

Samuel smirked, amused. "Yes. Answer the little girl's question."

"W-whatever are you talking about?!" exclaimed Romeo, wanting to get out of this situation faster than ever. "We're not like that, Asuka! No way will I ever kiss the Usagi!"

"Who said anything about kissing?" asked Samuel, gaining more entertainment from this. "The way you're acting now, it's like you did something scandalous with Azure."

'Oh shut up, Samuel!"

"Nope! Romeo and I aren't married, Asuka-chan! He's not my type anyways," said Azure. "Why don't you wash your hands while we prepare for dinner?"

"Okay!"

After the little girl ran to the bathroom, Samuel glanced at Romeo and asked, "So, are you going to keep watching over Asuka? Because if you do, you'll have to stay here for the night. Alone. With Azure."

That irritated Romeo. "N-no! I was just about to leave! Bye!"

"Wait, Romeo-!" called out Azure.

"BYE!"

"Huh, what a jerk! I wonder why he was in a hurry for! He could have stayed for dinner," the Water Dragon Slayer pouted, placing her hands on her hips.

Samuel shook his head in disbelief. "Someday, Azure. Someday..."

* * *

><p><strong>Whew! Finished! Usagi means 'rabbit' in Japanese, so that's all! Next chapter will come up soon, so read and review!<strong>


	7. Growing is Caring

**Okay, let's skip the lovey dovey parts for now and focus more on missions! **

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

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><p>"..." Azure stared down at the glass of milk she was ordered to drink, growling. Once again, like almost every day, she was faced with the most worst enemy ever: Milk.<p>

"You know Kinana's going to keep serving you that until you finally give in, right?" reminded Max, not looking up from his newspaper.

"Azure! It's just a simple gulp!" urged Kinana, annoyed. "If you don't drink milk, you'll never grow up!"

"No way! I'm not gonna drink this! Hmph!" Stating that, Azure crossed her arms and looked away in a huff. She tried to think of ways to get rid of the milk. She couldn't slip it to Samuel because he was away on a mission with Alzack and Bisca, so that plan was out.

"Kinana! I'm finished with my food! Here!" called Droy, presenting his empty dish.

Kinana took the dish with a smile. "Okay then!" She turned to Azure with a stern look on her face. "Please drink the milk by the time I get back!"

As soon as the purple-haired waitress entered the kitchen, Azure zoomed past Wakaba and Max, holding a glass of milk in front of Droy. "Drink this and I'll buy you lunch for today!"

"Deal!" Droy swiped the glass of milk from Azure and chugged it down in one gulp before giving it back to Azure. Azure ran back to her seat as if nothing happened.

"...You do realize Kinana will find out about this, right?" spoke up Wakaba.

"No she won't!" giggled Azure as Kinana came back, looking pleased.

"Oh! You finally dranked your milk! Keep this up, and you'll grow up to be strong and healthy!" encouraged the purple-haired woman, patting Azure in the head before taking the empty glass and walking away.

"Oi, Droy! I've got us a job!" called Jet, walking towards his friend while holding a request sheet. "It says we have to go retrieve some sort of treasure located inside some ruins for 12,000 Jewels. Seems easy enough."

After hearing the word, 'treasure,' Azure ran behind Jet, her eyes sparkling with joy and excitement. "Ooh! Treasure! Did you say treasure? Can I come? Can I come? I wanna! I wanna! Come on, come on, please?"

"Sure!" agreed Droy.

"Hold on!" interrupted Jet, taking Droy by the arm and leading him away from Azure, who was curious to what they were talking about. As soon as they were far from where Azure was, the speed-magic user whispered, "What were you thinking? I wanted both of us to do this job!"

"But, think about it, Jet," urged Droy. "If we bring Azure, who's a Dragon Slayer, it'll make the job easier for us! There might be tough monsters!"

"But we have to get tough too, for Fairy Tail and ourselves!" argued Jet.

The overweighted man sighed. "This is just a rumor, but...I heard that the last people who tried out this request were wiped out instantly once inside the ruins. They were lucky enough to escape, though."

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah, Master Macao and Wakaba told me once. Come on, we should at least bring Azure with us! With a Dragon Slayer by our side, we might as well be invincible!"

Jet thought about it for a moment. If what Droy was saying was true, then they might need an additional and strong comrade to help them. "Alright, fine. We'll bring her along. Azure! Can you come here for a second?"

"Yay! Yay! I get to be on the team!" cheered Azure, happily skipping towards the two.

"But...we didn't even say anything," reminded Droy, surprised. "How did-?"

"Dragon Slayer senses!" replied Azure, pointing to her ears. "I could hear every word you said! How do you think I cheated at cards while playing with Master and Wakaba?"

"WHAT?! YOU CHEATED?!" Wakaba yelled, overhearing the conversation. "No wonder we lost!"

Azure turned to them, annoyed. "Hey, you were cheating too! I saw your cheating ways, so that makes us even!"

"And, I think we should go now," spoke up Jet, dragging Azure away by the arm as he and Droy left the guild.

* * *

><p><em>Several hours later... <em>

"Aww! I'm still confused why we had to take a stupid carriage! We could have gotten to the ruins faster if we used my motorcycle!" whined Azure as she and her team wandered around in a jungle, trying to locate the ruins enlisted in the map.

"Uh, do you not realize Droy's size?" questioned Jet, pointing to Droy who was eating an apple. "If he tried to sit on your motorcycle, it would have broken instantly!"

"Hey! I'm still here, you know!"

"...Yeah, you're right. It's bad enough that I have to drag my motorcycle to the repair shop every once in a while, but being broken into pieces is even worse!" sighed Azure.

"HEY!"

Some low, growling noises alerted the team's attention, causing them to stand up straight and glance around in suspicion. Soon enough, they were surrounded by a pack of wolves, baring their sharp shark-like teeth, and hungry for one thing: Humans.

"Wolves! Why did it have to be wolves?" fretted Droy.

"Oh, knock it off! Besides, these guys don't look so tough," retorted Jet, being cocky.

"Well, if we have to fight them, then let's just make this quick," sighed Azure, shaking her head. "Let's go, Team Water Trio!"

"Where'd you get that stupid name?" questioned Jet, frowning.

"Hey! It's not stupid! Trio means the three of us, and I'm the leader, and I control water, so yeah!"

"Even I can come up with better names way faster than you!"

"Um...guys!" cried out Droy, slightly frightened as the wolves started approaching them one by one. "They're getting closer!"

"Fine! Let's move!" ordered Jet, crotching down as if he was ready to run. "Falcon Heavenward!" Rushing at some wolves, Jet then swung his leg around, knocking away a few of them.

"Knuckle Plant!" Throwing a few seeds at the ground, Droy then used his Plant Magic to summon several vines from the ground which transformed into fists, thus pummeling several wolves.

Azure blinked once, then twice before her expression sharpened and became stern as she unsheathed her dao sword. She sprinted forward at some wolves, who jumped to the air, ready to pounce on her. As she leaped upwards, she performed a variety of slashes before coming back to the ground, decapitated parts of the wolves falling behind her.

Together, with their magic and fighting techniques, the three of them managed to defeat a lot of wolves before the survivors fled, realizing full well they couldn't defeat these Mages.

"Man...that was pretty tough," panted Droy, who had used a lot of his Magic Power during the fight. Scattered pieces of seeds and plants were everywhere, evident of his Plant Magic.

"I'll say," agreed Jet, stretching his legs. During the fight, one of the wolves managed to bite one of his legs, and he received a nasty wound from it, but due to his pride, there was no way he was going to tell Azure or Droy about that. He was going to have to heal this himself.

The serious and collected Azure blinked a few times before unsheathing her dao sword, then smiled at her two comrades as if nothing happened. "Hey, that wasn't bad! Hope you two are alright!"

"Just...give me a minute," panted Droy, weakly raising his hand.

"Hey, how come you never used any of your magic back there?" questioned Jet, curious. During the fight with the wolves, while Jet and Droy used their own Magic to defeat their opponents, not once have they seen Azure use any of her Water Dragon Slayer magic. They only saw her fight with her sword or with her martial arts skills, but that's it.

"Hmm? I want to save up my Magic just in case a tough opponent comes by!" responded Azure happily. "Hey, is it alright if I scout ahead? I promise I won't go too far!"

"Fine, fine. Whatever," said Jet, shooing her away with a wave of his hand. The dark-haired girl giggled before walking away, pushing past some vines and other plants as she hummed some sort of song.

Droy let out a sigh, looking down at the ground. "...In a way, she reminds me of Levy."

"Hey, I thought I told you several times not to bring up the past anymore."

"...Right, sorry."

"GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS GUYS!" Out of nowhere, Azure came running back, the grin on her face indicating something happened. "I found it! I found the ruins!"

"Eeh?! That quick?!" exclaimed Jet in disbelief, unable to comprehend the fact that the girl found the ruins this quickly.

"Yeah! It wasn't that hard to find! Look, I'll even take you guys there! Follow me!" Grabbing their arms, Azure practically started dragging the two full grown men with her arms, making it a while to reach the ruins.

When they finally arrived, the ruins were like any other ruins; destroyed, ancient, and in turmoil. Broken small buildings laid around along with rubble scattered around the ground in pieces. The only building nearly intact was the main temple, where inside, the treasure was somewhere located there.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on!" perked up Azure happily before sprinting inside the temple, as if competing for a race.

"Wait, Azure!" exclaimed Jet, reaching his hand out for her. "This place could be filled with-"

"GAAHH! SPIKES!"

"...Traps."

* * *

><p><em>Later, at around sundown... <em>

"Thanks, Jet! For a second, I thought I was a goner there!" thanked Azure happily as she skipped ahead of her group. While they were in the broken down ruins, they had gotten lost or arrived at dead ends several times, and sometimes some traps. The last time they arrived at a trap, Azure nearly fell into a hole if it hadn't been for Jet's speed and Droy's Plant Magic that saved her.

"Flattery's not going to get you anywhere, Azure," sighed Jet, rubbing his temples out of stress.

"Hey! Not need to get all upset!" Azure turned around and continued walking backwards, facing both Jet and Droy. "Oh, and you were a great help too, Droy!"

"How in the world did you manage to get lose in a straight path anyways?" asked Droy. "It's not like you're new at this."

"Yes, but even people makes mistakes sometimes!" the girl replied, grinning.

"It seems to me you make mistakes A LOT," Jet mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!" A that moment, Azure stepped on some sort of panel, the sound of triggering something occuring seconds later.

"You idiot! What did you do?!" shouted Jet, rushing in front of her, panicking.

"H-hey! How should I know?!"

Out of nowhere, a huge dog-like beast baring sharpened jaws with drool dripping down its hungry jaws and standing on all four large paws popped out. It was snarling at them before licking its lips.

"AAAAAHHH! MONSTER!" both Droy and Jet screamed before making a run for it. Only Azure remained, and instead of running or backing off, she walked closer to the monster.

"Hey, big guy! Say, if you don't attack me, I won't attack you back, alright?" Azure asked, winking brightly at the monster.

**"RRRRAAAAAAGGGHHHH!" **The monster's response was a roar to Azure's face, spittles getting all over her face and hair.

"Yuck!" Azure wiped away the spittles on her face and shook her head several times, sticking her tongue out. "Alright, you asked for it!" The second after saying that, her eyes turned dead cold and solemn. She unsheathed her dao sword and commenced the first attack on the monster.

As Droy and Jet were running, with Jet being way faster, Droy glanced behind his shoulder and all around him before realizing they were missing someone. "Wait! Where's Azure?!"

Jet screeched to a stop, also realizing the problem about the lack of a third member. "Gah! You're right! Wait, could she still be back there?!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...WE GOTTA GO BACK!" both Droy and Jet cried out before turning back the way they came and rushing to save their friend.

Meanwhile, Azure was still clashing with the monster, the several slash scratches on the monster's body and the small, but visible dirt marks around Azure's body proving so.

Continuing their battle, the monster wasted no time charging at Azure head on, causing her to somersault out of the way while simultaneously landing a swift blow at one of the legs. It wasn't much, but did manage to create another small scratch at the monster's legs.

Both wasted no time charging at each other once more, but when Azure stabbed her dao sword forward in the exchange of blows, the weapon gets caught between the monster's jaws, making it difficult for her to yank her dao sword out and for the monster to smash his jaws down.

"Chain Plant!" Seeds scattered around the monster's feet before growing into large vines. The vines tangled themselves to the monster, trapping and binding it as it struggled to move.

"Azure! Duck!" Instantly, Azure did as she was told while still holding onto her dao sword, feeling a swift wind past her head. In actuality, Jet had allowed Droy to go ahead ahead so he could trap the monster, then afterwards, Jet would jump in.

After leaping over Azure's head, Jet extended his leg forward to stomp on the monster's forehead as hard as he could. Considering how far he was running and his Speed Magic, along with his average skilled fighting techniques, Jet was able to shatter at least a small part of the monster's skull, It may have not been enough to kill it, but enough for the monster to release Azure's dao sword, fall on its back, and whimper in pain, unable to move due to the vines.

"A chance, Azure!" called out Droy, still trying to contain the monster with his Plant Magic. Azure nodded before leaping off the ground, stepping onto the wall for a second before launching herself off and stabbing the monster in the heart, where its vulnerable chest was shown. The monster howled in pain before falling limp, dead.

Azure stood up straight before yanking her dao sword out of the monster's chest, swinging it once to get the blood out before sheathing it back to its scabbard. She then turned to her two companions with a happy look, as if nothing happened. "Hey guys! Thanks for the assist, but I could have handled that guy by myself!"

While Droy was stunned that Azure wasn't scared that she was almost mauled to death, Jet was more mad than stunned. "You idiot! Why didn't you run away?!" he questioned, stomping in front of Azure.

"Hmm? Well, I don't really run away from fights, and I was more than capable of beating that monster," replied Azure cheerfully.

"You almost died!"

"Not really! I had everything under control! Well, you guys helped, so the credit falls on all three of us!"

"That's not the point!" yelled Jet. "Unlike you, me and Droy are far more superior and more serious about mission, and people have to listen to their superiors!"

Droy seemed to realize where this was leading. "Oi, Jet! Calm down a bit-"

"No! She needs to hear this!" Jet turned back to Azure, who was surprisingly listening to every word. "Every dangerous mission has problems, and even a small mistake could cost you your life! So stop being so carefree and childish in these sort of situations and just grow up already!"

"Jet!" cried out Droy, glancing at both his friends one by one. "You could have said it in a mild manner!" He twisted his head towards Azure, who was silent and had her eyes hidden under her bangs. "A-Azure? You alright?"

"Yup! Totally fine!" assured Azure, lifting her head happily. "Let's get going!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" called Jet. "Did you even hear a word I just said?!"

"Yeah! Don't worry, I completely understand! You just told me to stop being immature, right? Well, I'll try!~" she giggled. With that sort of tone, nobody would have believe that she just took that lecture and still feel better.

"Y-yeah! Let's get moving!" Droy pushed Jet ahead gently before whispering, "Hey, that was a bit rude, don't you think?"

"Well, she needed to learn that, even with the hard way," defended Jet.

As everyone kept exploring the ruins, unknown to Jet and Droy, Azure may have kept the happy look on her face, but her thoughts spoke otherwise. _'Calm down, Azure! Don't let your anger get the best of you!' _she thought to herself, sporting the same grin on her face as she cletched her fists tightly. _'In a way, they're right, but even so, it still hurts to hear that.'_

* * *

><p>"Hey, look up there," called out Droy, pointing to a pathway that lead upwards. Determined to see the end of the pathway, the trio followed the pathway, and within minutes, it lead them to a huge area with several large portions of rubble laying around, as if a battle had occured here long ago.<p>

The trio searched around, trying to find another entrance or pathway to move forward, but there wasn't a single path or even a small hole in the area. With her Dragon Slayer senses, Azure heard footsteps approaching, so she grabbed Droy and Jet and hid behind a huge rock, yanking them down with her.

"Hey! What are-"

"Shh."

"But-"

"SHHH!"

"Heh, so I went all out on that guy, but I kinda took it too far and killed him! Eh, not a big deal." Soon, a small group of people wearing purple mage-like robes, and two dressed like green heavily-armored knights entered the ruins, armed with swords/wands.

Droy sighed in relief. He had thought that a huge monster was coming, but it was only some mages. "See? Nothing to worry about."

"I'm not sure, Droy. They look suspicious. Let's wait and see what happens," Jet whispered to his friend, peeking through their hiding spot. They may be people, but one can never judge another simply by appearances.

"Still, I can't believe you went overboard. You should have at least left his body intact so we could take his stuff," one of the men from the ground commented.

"Yeah, but I doubt that he would have anything of use to us! We are Poison Emerald, after all!"

Jet and Droy fought back a gasp, their expressions shocked and horrified as they quietly gasped for breath. Azure, tilting her head, asked, "Who?"

"Poison Emerald! They're a really strong dark guild!" hissed Droy, who was losing it. "Aw man! This is bad!"

"Yeah! We can't handle a tough guild like that!" agreed Jet. "I don't want to do this, but we'll have to retreat!"

"Not to worry!" spoke up Azure with certain eyes. "As long as I'm here, you don't have to worry a thing! Besides, I've got a plan to beat those guys!"

"How?" wondered Droy, a bit interested, yet mostly scared.

"Well, I was thinking that I would go hide in a more secure spot, then shoot water bullets at those guys! Like, pow, pow! Pow!"

"I...was actually thinking that you might use your Water Dragon Slayer magic to wipe them all out in one go."

"But, if I did that, it would be really, really bad," Azure told Droy. "Because huge amounts of magic at once could shaken up the place, then we would have the whole ruins fall down on us thanks to our fighting."

"Hmm..." Jet thoughtfully considered the situation, then came up with a plan. "I got it! Azure, you go hide like you said, but use your Water Dragon Slayer magic on the two knights. While the other mages focus on you, me and Droy will step in and finish them off. Got it?"

"..." While listening, Azure eyed the dark mages, having a bad feeling about them. "Uh...can I make a change in the plans? I wanna try taking out the mages instead of the knights. I just don't like how they seem all evil and suspicious-like, you know?"

"I know they seem like that, but those knights are tough and it doesn't seem like my speed or Droy's Plant Magic would be enough to wipe them out," sighed Jet. "If they close in on both me and Droy, we're finished. The mages don't have any armor on, but it'll be a little more easier to take them on than the knights."

"...Alright then." Azure bent down and started crawling as fast as she could until she reached a hidden spot where she could take out the two knights with a certain spell she was planning. From behind the rubble she was hiding behind, she calculated the time it would take for the knights to reach this area. When she saw sight of them, she readied her magic.

Rotating her arm once, Azure created a blue Magic Circle before forming her hand into a gun, ready to aim as her expression turned deadpanned and serious.

"Water Dragon's Bullets."

Immediantly, several bullets of water fired from the Magic Circle while Azure made firing motions with her gun-shaped hand, as if she was wielding a gun. The water bullets accurately hit the two armored knights, and some of the water bullets managed to hit their foreheads, which had enough force to knock them out.

"What the hell?!"

"What happened?!"

"Over there!"

Knowing she was caught, Azure stood up quickly and made a run for it as the Poison Emerald mages started blasting spells at her. "Water Dragon's Shield!"

A barrier of water covers Azure's front as she continued running from the enemy mages, defending against a few spells since Azure is running while controlling the spell. Meanwhile, Jet and Droy prepared themselves for their surprise attack.

"Knuckle Plant!" The Poison Emerald Mages were taken off-guard when some seeds landed near their feet, puzzled by why random seeds would appear out of nowhere.

Unfortunately for Droy and Jet, one of the mages had casted a barrier spell in time, thus blocking the pkant-like punches that were meant for the Poison Emerald mages.

One of the dark mages spotted the two Fairy Tail wizards behind some rubble and pointed with his staff. "Hey! I spot some guys behind there! Get them!"

"Wait about the kid there?!" one of the dark mages asked, pointing to Azure, who was still deflecting some spells with her water shield while running.

"We'll handle those two guys! The rest of you take care of the boy!" ordered the leader of the Poison Emerald guild before concentrating on his magic.

For a while, the fight continued harshly, and Azure's team was obiviously losing due to the high amounts of spells Poison Emerald were casting and lack in numbers. Surprisingly, Poison Emerald knew lots of Wind and Earth Magic, and were fast at casting then, making it clearly impossible to get near. Droy's spells were blocked, and Jet couldn't get in close combat without being shredded. Azure was conserving her energy, continuously casting her Water Dragon's Bullets spell along with the water shield spell. If she cast any other powerful spells, she was afraid the ruins might give in and kill them all.

Eventually, Azure managed to regroup with Droy and Jet, who were struggling against their fight with the Poison Emerald mages. Knowing that they needed a better defensive fortress, even if it's not the best, Azure began transforming her magic power into water, the liquid surrounding her arm in a spiral formation.

"Water Dragon's Wave!"

Swinging her arm out, Azure released an average-level wave at the dark mages, and though the strong wave didn't knock them out, it was enough to knock them off their feet. Taking this chance, and with his Speed Magic, Jet quickly found a new, stronger fortress and rushed there as Azure and Droy followed him. Soon after, the mages started casting spells at their fortress, loud noises being heard repeatedly as cement and rubble were being destroyed.

"Azure! Are you okay?" Droy asked, worried. Azure just nodded her head, answering his question.

"We're in deep trouble," muttered Jet, gulping as sweat trailed down his forehead. "Those guys clearly outnumber us, and like Azure said, we can't afford to cast more powerful magic, or the ruins will collapse on top of us."

"But if we keep hiding, they'll outrun us in no time," reminded Azure, her tone serious. "Considering all the magic they casted, they should be running low by now. If we wait, there'll be our window of oppprtunity. Droy, support me with some defensive Plant Magic. I'll draw their attention and try blocking their attacks as much as I can. Jet, when you see your chance-"

"It's impossible," the Speed user whispered, scared. "They can still cast high level spells that can wipe us out. Dark guilds like them don't give a damn if these ruins collapse, as long as they get to kill someone."

"Even so, if they use huge amounts of Magic, they'll run out. We can still-"

"I told you already, we'll die if we go head on!" Jet took a deep breath, relaxing his shoulders. "How about we just surrender and give them all our things? It'll be a shame, but it's better than dying."

"Even if we do give them our stuff, there's no way they'll _not_ kill us afterwards," said Azure.

"And how do you know that?!" Now, Jet was losing his cool, and he didn't care. "They're obviously too powerful! They're a Dark Guild, they-"

"Then why don't you die?!" Angrily and aggressively, Azure grabbed the front of Jet's shirt and yanked him forward, forcing him to look at Azure's fierce eyes as her expression turned very serious and angry. "In situations like this, it's best to give it all you've got, not cower in fear like a stupid, dumbass, COWARD!"

Droy and Jet let out a small gasp, startled as they turned to each other. Not once have they seen Azure this angry, especially with the scary look she was giving them. But, at the same time, it caused them to step out of their fear and face what was going on.

"...You're right. Sorry," Jet quickly apologizing, releasing a breath as he relaxed his shoulders. "...I have a new plan. I'll distract the mages, and Droy, you support me. Azure, when it's time, strike back, but don't use a too strong spell."

"Jet! You can't be serious! You'll die! No, you'll be killed first!" protested Droy. "We-"

The plump man was interrupted when Azure swung her arm in front of his face, stopping him midsentence. "...Alright. We'll go along with your plan, Jet."

Gulping, Jet stood up and wiped the sweat from his forehead before running towards the Poison Emerald mages, hollering a battle cry.

The Poison Emerald mages only smirked, confident in taking him out as they unleashed spells at Jet. As he was running, Jet was delivering blows to the non close-combat mages and managed to dodge a couple of the spells, but at last, a few wind spells and chunks of rocks hit his body, sending him flying.

"Holder Plant!" From the ground sprang out large, springy leaves, catching Jet just before his body could crash to the cement floor. In addition, the leaves began to lower his battered body until he was safely on the ground.

_'Nice job, Jet and Droy,' _thought Azure, stepping out of her hiding spot and confronting the injured Poison Emerald mages. _'I'll take it from here!' _

One of them had the galls to snicker at the serious-looking tomboy. "Oh look! A little boy is going to try and-"

"Water Dragon's Roar!" Quickly taking in a deep breath, Azure let out a powerful stream of water from her mouth, blasting every single dark mage member away. The force of her spell was enough to drive them away and defeat them at the same time, their unconscious, wet bodies falling to the ground. Since that spell wasn't exactly weak nor strong, the ruins was still in place.

Both Droy and Jet let out sighs of relief as they approached Azure from their hiding spots. At least now they wouldn't have to worry about the Poison Emerald members any longer.

"Azure, are you alright?" asked Droy, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Yup!" Azure twisted around and a grin formed on her face, assuring she was alright. "Huh? Hey, look over there!" She pointed to a huge hole in the wall, which possibly lead to a different path.

"That's weird. That was never there before," pointed out Jet.

"Maybe all the fighting and spells caused the path to open," suggested Droy.

"Let's hurry up then! I wanna see the treasure!" Impatiently, Azure ran ahead towards the new path, with Jet and Droy hurrying behind her and yelling at her to be careful.

At the end of the pathway, with the help of some torches that lit their way, the trio found a small and old treasure chest which seemed to be the item they were looking for. Opening it, they found a beautiful snowflake necklace with a gem in the middle.

"Ooh! Pretty!" commented Azure, eyes sparkling.

"Well, we should take the chest back with us. Our client did want this back after all," ordered Jet, closing the lid on the treasure chest. "Hopefully, with the reward money we get, it should be enough to cover this month's rent for the guild."

"I'll carry it," offered Droy, lifting up the light chest with both arms.

As soon as they reached outside in broad daylight, Jet turned to Azure, who was happily humming to herself a short tune. When he had yelled at her before, he did feel a bit bad about it, and wanted to apologize and also thank her for yelling at him and Droy before.

"Azure?"

"Yes, Jet?"

Jet sighed, bracing himself. "...Sorry about shouting at you before."

Instead of getting mad, Jet never expected her to laugh to wholeheartedly. "It's fine! Totally fine! Lots of guys used to tell me the same thing way before I joined Fairy Tail!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah! About 60 or over 100 people!"

Droy and Jet sweatdropped at the high amount. "I...hope you're being overexaggerated about that," mumbled Jet, shoulders drooping.

"Yeah, I know! I lost count, though. Mostly, Samuel tells me that all the time!" replied Azure cheerfully before counting her fingers. "Let's see...there was one time, and that other time, and now..."

"Okay. Okay. I get the picture," the Speed Magic user interrupted. "But, thanks though. For yelling at me and Droy. If you haven't brought us to our senses back there with the huge guild battle, we would have been wiped out!"

"Who?" Apparently, Azure didn't seem to know what he was talking about.

"Uh...Poison Emerald? The battle?"

"I know that battle, but I don't remember the whole yelling at you part."

"It was when you got angry?"

"...?"

"...When you called me a dumbass and told me to die?"

"Oh!" Azure snapped her fingers, happy she was able to remember. "Yeah, that! Well, you're welcome! Wow, this is the first time someone's ever thanked me for calling them a dumbass! I should do that more often! Droy and Jet the Dumbasses!"

"Yeah, don't do that," both Jet and Droy said in unison before walking off, leaving Azure alone.

"Hey, wait up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Finally done with this chapter, which took me about a week or so to finish! I may have made Droy and Jet a bit OOC, but I don't know their personalities that well, alright? Read and review!<strong>


	8. Hanami Festival Day Off!

**Heya, guys! A brand new chapter up and waiting just for you! Enjoy! And thanks, WhatifStoryTeller for helping me out on this chapter!~**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

* * *

><p>"Azure-chan! Wake up, please! Samuel's already awake!"<p>

"Mmm...five more minutes."

"But, Azure-chan, it's the blooming season of the cherry blossoms! We did plan on going on a picnic together, remember? I even baked you your favorite dangos!"

"Ooh! Really?!" Azure got up from her bed, throwing the bed covers off of her and zooming past Kinana, who had tried to wake her up. Knowing Azure, especially on this special day, Kinana got up and began climbing down the stairs to get ready herself.

According to the news, the Hanami festival was starting around the spring season, and the Fairy Tail members were allowed to take a few days off of work. Therefore, Kinana and Azure planned an all-girl picnic in Forest Valley, one of the places Azure discovered that had one of the most beautiful cherry blossoms while on a job one time.

Of course, both girls planned on inviting Laki too, but she had plans. Of course, Samuel respected their wishes and told Azure he was planning to spend time at the bookstore. Everyone else were probably going to hang out at the guild or do something else.

About an hour later of preparation, Azure and Kinana emerged from the guild's kitchen, holding a nice, warm picnic basket that both worked hard to make the food to put the food in.

Macao, Wakaba, and a few others were still hanging out in the guild as Samuel flew towards the two girls. "Hold on," the genius Exceed said, interrupting them. "I should warn you that Forest Valley has a lot of monsters, since it is the spring time, and lots of them wake up from hibernation."

"Don't worry, Samuel!" assured Azure, petting the flying cat on his hat. "We'll be alright! You know me! I'm super strong! I'll easily protect Kinana! Besides, this is girls only! No boys allowed!"

"Alright, but be careful. I did research on the monsters, and there is a 34% chance of you being wiped out from the monsters there."

"Samuel, I made your favorite lunch in the kitchen for later," said Kinana, trying to cheer up the cat. "Mushrooms sauteed in butter!"

"R-really?!" The thought of devouring his delicious, tendered food later on caused Samuel to drool, making Azure snicker. "I-I mean, I don't care! But thank you, anyways!"

"Samuel acts like a tsundere sometimes," Azure revealed to Kinana, who giggled at the cute, flustered face Samuel was making.

"You do too, Azure!"

"Do not!"

"How about we get going then?" suggested Kinana, grabbing Azure's hand and leading her outside the guild, where Azure's magic motorcycle laid near. Azure sat in front of her motorcycle as Kinana sat in the back, hugging the small tomboy's waist after both girls put on their helmets for safety.

"Bye, Samuel! See you later!" called out Azure, waving to her Exceed partner before strapping the SE-plug to her wrist and taking off at a fast rate, leaving dust behind.

In mere seconds, Azure and Kinana rode through town, and soon found themselves traveling down a long path, enjoying themselves. "Wooooo! This is so amazing!" cried out Kinana, enjoying the fast breeze as she embraced her friend's waist more tightly.

"I know, right?!" called out Azure, having fun herself. "Samuel hates it when I go too fast, like this!"

"Really? But I love it!"

"What? I can't hear you, Kinana!"

"I said, I love it!"

"Well-ACK! I swallowed a fly!"

* * *

><p><em>A few hours later... <em>

"*Gulp* *Gulp* *Gulp* Ahhh!" Gulping down the last contents of her third water bottle, Azure dug a small hole, smashed her useless water bottle to bits, placed the pieces to the hole, and buried it before standing up, fully refreshed.

After taking several pit stops near streams and rivers throughout the hours, Azure and Kinana just arrived at the Forest Valley, but decided to take a short break before proceeding to save up their strengths. Azure used a ton of magic power to reach this far due to using her magic power to drive her magic motorcycle, so she needed to restore her magic power as much as she could.

"Are you okay now?" asked Kinana, who was washing her hands in the cool stream.

"Yup! All ready to go! Let's do this, Kinana!" said Azure, all pumped up. Together, both of them traveled through the forests of the valley, approaching cautiously as Azure took the lead, given that she was the only available fighter. Whenever they encountered a monster, Kinana would hide behind a tree or something of the sort and watched as Azure took it out using her dao sword or martial arts skills.

Later, both girls managed to enter deeper and deeper into Forest Valley, but they were still a long ways to go to get to the infamous cherry blossom trees. Right now, Azure was currently facing a monster, who was close to death.

Azure continuously clashed blades with the sword-wielding lizard monster before finding an opening to finish it off without hesitation. As the lizard monster went down, Kinana noticed the bushes rustling, and when a small ogre monster appeared and charged towards Azure from behind, she shouted, "Azure! Look out!"

Turning to glare at the ogre monster with her sharp, cold eyes, Azure thrusted her dao sword forward several times as if wielding a rapier, which threw the monster back a bit. Taking this as an advantage, Azure charged at the weak monster before stabbing it up in the throat, killing it before sheathing her weapon.

"Kinana!" called Azure cheerfully, waving to her.

"Azure-chan! Are you alright?" asked Kinana, rushing towards her and bending down to examine her body. She gasped when she saw two bloody gashes on Azure's body, one on her cheek, and the other in her shoulder. "You're hurt!"

"That was sorta my fault," admitted Azure, rubbing the back of her head. "I underestimated the monsters here. Don't worry! These wounds won't slow me down! All we have to do is get water from the water bottles, and I can properly heal myself!"

"Um...you used up the last of the water bottles, remember?"

"Eh?! Seriously?!"

"Yes...It looks like we'll have to wait until we find another stream or another source of water. I'm sorry, Azure. I didn't bring my first-aid kit."

'It's fine! It's fine! I'm sure sooner of later, we'll find something!"

As the two girls continued to travel downwards the path, they spotted a small stream ahead, but at the same time, a group of wolves were standing by, drinking from the very same stream they intended to go to.

"Oh no," groaned Kinana. "We can't deal with that many wolves! It looks like we'll have to find another-"

"Men! Let's take care of these fiends once and for all!" A deep and loud voice bellowed. "Me, Ren, and Eve shall take care of these fellows! Hibiki, you stand back and back up us!"

"Yes, master!" Out of nowhere, a short man in a white suit and reddish-orange hair along with three more attractive guys in black suits appeared in strange poses.

"Who are they?" wondered Kinana, who couldn't help but think that those men, besides the short one, was very handsome.

"I don't know, but I don't care! I wonder if they're really strong!" said Azure, eyes sparkling while wondering what strengths these mysterious newcomers possess.

"MEN!" The short man raced ahead first as the ones called Eve and Ren followed afterwards, but he was quickly defeated by a single swipe from one of the wolves, causing him to be sent flying towards the trees.

_'That's how strong he is?! That's just plain weak!' _thought Azure and Kinana, stunned.

"Master!" cried out Eve, worried for the petite man's safety.

"How dare you hurt our master!" yelled Ren at the wolves as he readied his Air Magic. "Aerial Blast!" With the magic circle in front of him, a whirling tornado came out, encircling and taking out several wolves.

Ren's initiation on the wolves alerted the other available wolves, making them ready themselves for battle as they growled at their human enemy. Some of them charged forward and pounced off the ground, but now, it was Eve's turn.

"White Fury!" Extending his arm forward, Eve generated and fired a snowstorm at the pouncing wolves, knocking them back and causing them to whimper.

"Eve! Ren! More wolves incoming!" yelled Hibiki, who was using his Archive Magic to gather info on these types of wolves. Eve and Ren, after hearing their companion's warning, jumped out of the way in time to avoid more wolves.

"Yosh! I think I'm gonna go help them!" said Azure, standing up straight and unsheathing her dao sword.

"Be careful, alright?" urged Kinana, receiving a nod from the younger girl. Taking her foot back, Azure readied herself to move as her face grew steadied and serious, and her hands clutched the hilt of the weapon tightly before she took off into the battlefield.

The first thing she noticed while running into the battlefield was how two wolves were sneaking up on Ren as he was busy taking care of the other wolves. "Look out!" she yelled, her feet pounding the ground as she ran faster. Once she got in close, she slashed at the two wolves, cutting them in half.

"Huh?!" Turning around, all Ren saw was some little kid wielding a sword. From the looks of it, it seemed that the two dead wolves in the ground were dealt with by him. "Who are you?"

"There's more approaching! Their weaknesses are the necks!" ordered Hibiki typing down things in his Archive Magic. Ignoring Ren, Azure ran past the young man to deal with the other wolves.

"Blizzard!" Moving his arms around, Eve began controlling a massive blizzard, striking multiple wolves at the same time. After the blizzard had passed, there were only a few wolves left in the area, perfect for Azure.

Leaping off the ground, Azure zoomed in onto the wolves, and didn't hesitate to slice their heads off, slashing several times to do so. After putting away her sword, Azure turned around to face her temporary allies happily.

"Hi! Nice job back-"

Suddenly, magical screens popped up in front of Azure before exploding, causing her to fly in the air momentarily before falling into the stream. Luckily, the explosion wasn't the sort that resulted in some sort of fire blast, but it still hurted for Azure, as well as shock Kinana.

"Ow!" Holding onto her hat, Azure glared at the three men. "What the hell?! What did I do wrong?!"

"Who are you?" asked Eve, a bit coldly. "We don't even know you. We were fighting those wolves when all of a sudden, you appeared out of nowhere. You're lucky Ren wasn't chopped to pieces!"

"Hey, I _saved_ him from being mauled by those wolves!"

"Stop it!" bursted out Kinana, standing in front of Azure and holding her arms out to protect her. "Azure-chan saved your friend! How could you attack?!"

"Oh my..." gasped Eve.

"Could it be...?" wondered Hibiki, astonished.

"A beautiful woman, lost in the middle of nowhere...?" muttered Ren, puzzled.

"Hello! What about me!" complained Azure, splashing around in the stream. Then, she realized she was in the water, making her think, _'Oh wait, I could use this time to heal myself.' _

"Men! Thanks to my clever plan, we have successfully defeated all the wolves! Good job!" praised Ichiya, doing the weird pose from before.

"Yes, master! Thank you very much!"

_'But you didn't even help!' _thought Azure, irritated as her jaw dropped. She shook her head and took a deep breath. She needed to concentrate on healing her wounds right now. Afterwards, she'll deal with those idiots who dared to attack her!

"Ahem!" Kinana had her hands on her hips and glaring angrily at the four men. "I want you to apologize to my friend, please!"

"Men! This beautiful woman had asked us a painful, but simple request! For her sake, let us oblige it!" ordered Ichiya.

"Yes, master!" The three more handsome men went up to Azure and spoke monotously, "We're sorry." _'Not.' _

_'They totally didn't sound sorry!' _thought Azure, as her wounds slowly started closing up.

"Azure-chan, are you alright?" Kinana asked, concern written all over her face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Ahem! Excuse me, fair lady," called out Ichiya, bending down on one knee and clasping one of Kinana's hands into his own. "Forgive me and my men for not noticing your presence earlier and upsetting you. Had we had known before, we would have welcomed you with ease. Isn't that right, men?"

"Yes, master!" All three young men spoke in unison, bowing their heads.

"Allow me to introduce myself! I am Ichiya, leader of the Trimens! And these are my lovely students!" Ichiya snapped his fingers and ordered, "Men! Prepare to keep our lovely lady guest warmth!"

"Of course, sir!"

Azure watched in astonishment as the Trimens team started running around in a blur, somehow getting a picnic blanket and setting everything like some sort of romantic dinner. By the time they were finished, Azure's wounds were all healed, and she stepped out of the stream.

"Men! Where are your manners? You forgot to introduce yourselves!"

'We're so sorry, master!" apologized all three young Trimens members, bowing their heads as Kinana sat politely on the picnic blanket, surrounded by goods and candles.

"My name is Hibiki, young miss," introduced Hibiki, bending on one knee and handing a warm towel to Kinana. "Would you like to freshen up?"

"No, I'm okay, thank you."

"Hello, you look lovely today," complimented Eve, bowing his head in respect of the purple-haired woman. "My name is Eve. A pleasure to meet you."

'Oh! Yes, of course! My name is Kinana."

"Kinana, right?" Ren walked up to her, holding a rose, but looking away, as if embarrassed. "The name's Ren. Here, you can have this if you want, but, it's not like I got this for you."

_'Wow, someone's a tsundere,' _thought Kinana sarcastically as she gratefully accepted the rose. "Thank you, Ren-kun."

Azure, who had managed to wring out most of the water off her clothes, sat down next to Kinana, her mouth drooling at some of the goods provided at the picnic blanket. "Hey, Kinana! Can I have some of the goods if you don't want some?"

"Hmm? Yes, but don't eat too much. We still have our own picnic lunch to eat, after all."

"Yay!" Happily, Azure was about to snatch a chocolate treat, when her hand was slapped away by Eve rather harshly. "Ow! Hey! What was that for?"

"Those are for the lady only. You're not welcome to them, even if she says so," answered Eve, his tone as cold as before.

"Jeez, cold much?"

"Tis must be destiny that brought us here, Miss Kinana!" cried out Ichiya happily before turning to Azure, who looked at him curiously. "...You, not so much."

"HUH?!" Azure's jaw dropped, shocked that she wasn't getting the same treatment as Kinana. _'What did I do wrong to deserve this?!' _

"Thank you for your hospitality," thanked Kinana, glancing at the Trimens. "But, unfortunately, me and my friend have to go to a special spot in Forest Valley to enjoy this picnic we planned."

"Oh? A picnic?" wondered Eve.

"In that case, why not enjoy it here?" asked Hibiki.

"But with us, of course," muttered Ren quietly.

Azure let a small whimper escape her lips, looking down sadly. She was looking forward to having an all-girls picnic, but, if Kinana wanted to eat here, it couldn't be helped. Oh well, at least they could try to go on a picnic another time. Besides, Forest Valley was full of tough monsters anyways, so it would have been more dangerous if they stayed longer.

"No!" denied Kinana, shaking her head. "I-I mean, I'm sorry for speaking rudely, but I can't. Me and my friend, Azure, we worked hard to make our own picnic, and we were planning to meet in the special spot I mentioned earlier. Azure really wanted to spend time with me out of all people, and I don't want her efforts to go to waste."

As much as Azure was touched by her words, so were the Trimens. "T-that's...! That's so beautiful!" sobbed the Trimens, including Ichiya. "You truly are blessed, Miss Kinana!"

"E-eh?!" Kinana turned flustered red at the compliment they had told her. "N-no! I'm alright, really!"

Azure snapped her fingers, receiving a brand new idea just now. "Hey, hey! I got something! Kinana, how about we invite the pervert guys and the weird short guy to our picnic? Then, everyone's happy!"

"Hey! How dare you call us perverts!' shouted Eve.

"We adore and respect women! We would never, ever go pass that line!" agreed Hibiki before pausing. "...Unless they wish."

"Uh...sorry, but I forgot your names! That's why I called you that!" apologized Azure, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "But, it's also because it's true. Samuel always told me flirting guys like you are always perverted!"

"Azure-chan!" scolded Kinana. "You can't say something like that outloud! That's rude!"

"But I really forgot their names!"

"Still, you musn't insult them like that!"

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" said Azure, wanting to break up the argument. "If I knew their names, I wouldn't be calling them that, okay? Could you tell me their names, then?"

Kinana sighed, rubbing her temples. "Alright then." The older woman began introducing the Trimens and Ichiya herself, hoping that now, Azure would get it.

"Oh! I get it! Yeah! I think I got it!" Azure stood up and glanced around the Trimens. "Hey! I think I know you guys! You're from Blue Pegasus, aren't you?"

"Men! That's correct!" replied Ichiya, posing once again.

Azure started nodding her head. "Yup, yup! I totally get it now! I used Hibiki's name in a play before and tricked the audience!"

"Uh...what are you talking about?' Hibiki asked, confused.

"Well, it's over and done with, so why not tell ya? Me and some of my guild members took on this request to perform a play for the playwright guy, and since our posters weren't attracting people, I lied and used your name to get customers to come!"

_'THAT PLAY?! HE WAS RESPONSIBLE?!' _thought the Trimens, remembering the play that had occured not too long ago, along with the fake Hibiki who resembled Hibiki.

"Oh! You didn't answer my previous question, Kinana!" whined Azure, turning to her. "Should we invite the Trimens to our picnic or not?"

"Well, I supposed the more the merrier." Kinana looked at the Trimens and asked kindly, "Would you like to join us in our picnic? The place where we're going is a little bit far, but it's worth it."

"Of course we will! If it's an invitation from a lovely lady such as yourself, there is no way we could possibly refuse!" said Ichiya, with the Trimens nodding their heads. "We will gladly protect you with our lives!"

"...In case anyone's noticed, I'm still here," spoke up Azure, holding up a hand.

"Oh right. You. Whatever."

_'Is every single playboy from Blue Pegasus a jerk?! Gosh!' _thought Azure, disliking Blue Pegasus more and more. She had heard that Blue Pegasus was famous for being beautiful and attractive, especially with the Trimens, and that they despised other men, but this was nuts!

* * *

><p><em>Later... <em>

"Why are you guys called Trimens?"

"Huh?" Ichiya turned to Azure, puzzled by her question as he and the others were still walking in Forest Valley. "Whatever are you talking about?"

'Well, Tri means three, right? If there are four of you, why isn't it um...FourMens? Or something like that?"

"It's actually simple," answered Hibiki, who had placed an arm around Kinana's shoulders. "Me, Ren, and Eve are the only members of the Trimens. Our great leader, Ichiya-san, is far too superior to be considered a Trimen."

"...I don't get it."

"Of course you don't," said Eve, spatting it out like an insult. "That's how dumb boys like you are."

"Hey! First off, I'm not dumb!" pouted Azure, crossing her arms. "And second, how come you guys don't like me? We just met for crying out loud, and I haven't done a single thing to you guys! Except...maybe ruin Hibiki's reputation when I made one of my friends dress up like him and perform as him."

Hibiki shivered at the memory of the _hideous_ man back at the play. "...Please don't drag me into this."

Then, Kinana spotted a huge sakura tree on top of a hill, not too far away. "Look over there! Azure, is that the spot you were talking about?"

"Huh?" Azure ran past the Trimens to Kinana's side before squinting her eyes. "Yeah...yeah! That's the place! Totally!"

Ichiya, who had been spraying him with perfume for about the hundred time, sniffed the air and realized something was wrong. "Wait, something's wrong. Men, prepare for battle! Miss Kinana, don't worry! We'll protect you!"

Puzzled, Azure sniffed the air, relying on her Dragon senses. Ignoring the infuriating perfumes that gave her a headache, she did nothing something amiss and heard something getting closer...and closer...

"Hibiki! Look out!" Without hesitation, she ran towards Hibiki and tackled him to the ground with all her strength, just in time to save him from a sort of piercing blow that came from underground. Both rolled around the ground for a bit before coming to a stop, with Azure wrapping her arms tightly around Hibiki to save him from whatever surprise attack came.

"Hey! What are-?!" Just when Hibiki was about to scold her, he was also about to shove her off by grabbing hold of her waist. However, when he touched her waist, he felt softness and curves that no boy should ever have.

It didn't take him long to realize Azure's real gender.

"What is that?!" gasped Eve as he and his fellow comrades stared at the large humanoid bull monster that was wielding a heavy axe. Smoke huffed out of his nostrils, and his red glowing eyes stared at all of them before letting out a battle roar. He was called a Minotaur, part man, part bull.

"Men! We must prepare for battle! Miss Kinana, don't worry! With my parfum, I shall protect you!' declared Ichiya, in a weird pose again.

"Kinana! You have to get away from the battle!" shouted Azure, getting up from Hibiki.

"O-Okay!" Looking around, Kinana found a tree and slowly began climbing it using the branches until she managed to make it halfway to the top so she could see what was going on. Ichiya stood near the tree as some sort of guard for Kinana.

Then, the Minotaur brandished his huge battle axe above his head, ready to bring it down.

"Everyone, scatter!" ordered Hibiki, standing up and running out of the way. At that moment, the other current fighters, Azure, Ren, and Eve split to the left and right, creating a huge gap. The blade of the axe swung down with tremendous strength and created a shock wave which cut in a straight path, passing through the gap violently.

"What strength!" gasped Eve, stunned by the monstrous strength the Minotaur possessed.

"Yeah, but let's finish him off!" Azure proclaimed, drawing her blade before turning serious and silent, as usual in battle.

Hibiki began typing around using Archive Magic, scanning the monster and glancing side by side. "I might be able to find his weakness, if you give me time!"

"Then, let's do this!" yelled Eve, getting into an attack position. "White Fang!" Swinging both arms into a clawing-like position, Eve conjured up a large Magic seal which summoned forth a clawful of snow that headed straight towards the Minotaur.

However, the Minotaur used the blunt side of his battle axe to try blocking the snow spell, spreading snow everywhere. Either the magic spell wasn't strong enough, or the battle axe was much more tougher than it looked, but soon enough, the magic spell dispersed and got canceled.

"It's my turn!" deemed Ren, running straight towards the Minotaur. "Aerial Shot!" Gathering air around him, he used the air's force to also collect large rocks and even a large tree nearby before sending them flying at the Minotaur, who easily slashed them away with a swing swing of his heavy battle axe.

The Minotaur swung his weapon downwards, causing Ren and Eve to try to fall back in order to dodge. However, they couldn't evade it completely in time and were just knocked down by the shockwave. Quickly, the monster swung his second strike towards the two as both fallen men held up Magic Seals for defense.

Letting out a cry, Azure flung herself forward as fast as possible, using the cold fear of death in her body as a mental boost for speed. Her blade barely managed to deflect the heavy weapon in time, and she felt a painful impact on her small body as the shockwave hit her.

As sparks flew off the two weapons, the monster's battle axe hit the ground with a loud rumble, as if trying to cause a small earthquake. Azure was already out of breath from blocking the near-death strike from the Minotaur, and together with Ren and Eve, they jumped back to avoid another shockwave.

"Hibiki! Did you finish analyzing the monster?" called out Ren.

"Nearly! Just give me a couple more seconds, and I'll have the weakness down in no time!"

"Then, I'll block the attacks," offered Azure, a sharp glint in her eyes as she bent down and prepared to charge. "Ren, Eve, you two take the offensive."

"Wait-"

Not bothering to listen to Eve, Azure jumped off the ground and rushed at the Minotaur, who gripped the hilt of his battle axe to prepare against his small foe. Luckily, the monster's attacks were pretty slow, but deadly, so with her small body, Azure dodged a lot of his attacks and managed to deliver a few strikes to his body.

As Azure blocked or dodged the Minotaur's attacks, Eve and Ren were using their magic to deal damage to the monster, which seemed to work, for a time. The trio managed to enrage the Minotaur even more, because now his attacks were mostly shockwaves that could slice anyone. Azure could use her magic, which could be a little more than enough to defeat the monster, but she wanted to physically become stronger, so she'll save her magic for the battle later, if worst comes to worse.

Time passed, and still, the Minotaur was still standing, and the Mages currently fighting were exhausted and doing everything they can to stop it. While Eve and Ren did their part, Azure concentrated fully on defending or parrying away the attacks, but she didn't really have much defensive skills, compared with her high dodging skills, so she was taking more of a beating than the rest of her comrades.

Then, Hibiki spoke up, his loud voice echoing throughout the battlefield. "I got it! The weakness is the top of the head! Hit the head!"

"But with something like that swinging a dangerous weapon, it's almost impossible to get there without being sliced!" called Eve, a hint of nervousness in his tone.

"That's why I need you, Azure, and Ren to particpate!" continued Hibiki. "Eve, distract the monster with your magic. Ren and Azure, when he's being distracted, charge up to the monster, then Ren, I want you to use your Air Magic on Azure, who'll add the finishing blow."

"Hey, you sure this'll work?" asked Ren, a little doubtful about this plan.

Hibiki only responded with a confident smirk. "Since when have my calculations been wrong?"

"It's coming!" called Azure, getting into a fighting stance. Just like she said, the Minotaur began his charge at the Trimens and Azure, ready to swing another deadly swing from hix axe once more.

"White Out!" Concentrating on his magic, Eve started enveloping the area around him wtih a blizzard, trying to block the Minotaur's sense of sight, which seemed to have worked, but wouldn't last for long since this spell wasn't exactly a long timed spell.

"Let's do this, even if you're my love rival!" yelled Ren as he and Azure advanced on the blinded Minotaur. If Azure was fooling around and being her cheerful, usual self righ tnow, she would have complained about being a love rival, but now, she was her calm, cold self in battle, and ignored any comments about her.

Once in range, Ren bent down, using his Magic to create his Magic Seal underneath Azure, who was preparing herself to attack. "Go! Aero!" With a shout, Azure kicked the ground at full forced and jumped, while at the same time, the Air spell activated, giving her a boost into the air. Azure regained herself and started performing a mid-forward somersault while still in the air, but her cap fell off, revealing her long, dark hair.

It was as if time had stopped, and the sun began shining on her small, but glorious radiance. Her long, midnight dark hair swayed and flowed with the winds, and the dark color of her hair shined within the bright light of the sun. She was like a small, but shooting star of darkness, prepared to strike down any enemy, and everyone was stunned by the hidden beauty of the tomboy who always disguised herself as a boy.

Paying no attention to anyone who viewed her, Azure changed her grip on her sword to a backhand and thrusted her body and sword forward as the Minotaur now regained vision. Hearing a plunging sound, everyone glanced up to see Azure on top of the Minotaur's head, her sword deeply implanted in the monster's skull.

Changing from a fierce, serious look to a happy, outgoing one, Azure sported a grin as she waved to the others. "Hey, guys! I did it! Look! I-whoa!" Her victory didn't last long as the dead Minotaur began to sway back and forth before starting to crash down to the ground.

Azure braced herself for the impact, but felt a swoosh and heard nothing for the Minotaur's crash. She tried to feel herself for pain from the crash, but nothing. She opened her eyes and realized that Eve was holding her in his arms safely.

"Are you okay, Azure-chan?" greeted Eve brightly as he placed her on her feet.

"Yup, yup! Thanks!" thanked Azure, petting him on the head before skipping away to the Minotaur. Eve's cheeks redden and thought back on blissful thoughts at what Azure just did.

_'She patted me! She totally did!' _thought Eve, already in Lala land. Azure walked up to the bleeding skull of the Minotaur's and tried to pull her sword out since she already implanted it too deeply.

"Here, allow me to do it for you," offered Ren, placing a hand on her shoulder. He gently grasped her hands away from the hilt of the sword and began pulling it himself until the bloody weapon was out. Then, he got out a handkerchief and wiped the blood off before handing the sword to Azure.

"Hey, thanks!" Sheathing her sword, Azure ran up to Kinana, who just now arrived back on land thanks to Hibiki's assistance. "Kinana!"

"Az-" Before she could say anything, the purple-haired woman was tackled to the ground by the tomboy, who giggled and grinned in excitement.

"We won! We totally owned that monster! Hehe!"

Kinana sighed in relief, wiping away any sweat due to stress and fear of losing more of her friends. "Yes...we did it."

"Azure hime-sama?" called out Hibiki, who bent down and handed over Azure's fallen cap. "I believe you dropped this."

"Yay! My favorite cap! Thanks, Hibiki!" Placing her long hair in somewhat a bundle and hiding it under her cap again, Azure pointed to the huge cheery blossom tree and shouted, "Let's go eat lunch now! Go, go!" Grinning, Azure ran towards the huge tree, now wanting to wait for anyone.

Kinana stood up, sighing at the girl's endless supply of excitement and impatientness as she followed after her. "Alright, hold on, Azure!"

"Men! Let us follow them!"

"Yes, master!"

* * *

><p><em>Several minutes later, during lunch... <em>

"Hey, may I ask you something, Azure-chan?" asked Eve as he generously poured more tea into Azure's cup. After arriving under the beautiful cherry blossom tree, everyone, mostly the Trimens, set up the picnic and began eating together.

"Hmm? Whaf is et?" Azure, who was gobbling down her favorite dangos, asked.

"Azure-chan, please talk after swallowing your food," Kinana scolded gently.

"*Gulp* Sorry. What did you need, Eve?"

"Well, I was wondering, and please excuse my rudeness, why were you dressed like a boy?"

Blinking her eyes in confusion, Azure shrugged her shoulders. "What's wrong with that? I like wearing boy clothes. Girly clothes like skirts and dresses are...eh."

"Oh! That just occured to me, men!" Ichiya gasped, snapping his fingers. "We haven't even properly apologized to Miss Azure for all the cruelty we caused her!"

The other Trimens gasped also in realization before kneeling in front of Azure and bowing their heads. "We're so sorry!"

"Huh? What are you apologizing for?"

"We didn't know you were a girl, Azure hime-sama!" explained Hibiki, raising his head.

"I am so ashamed of myself," muttered Ren.

"Wah! We were so rude and mean to you, Azure-chan!" cried out Eve.

"It's...fine?" assured Azure, petting each of them in the heads.

"Tell me something, Miss Azure," spoke up Ichiya, sipping his cup of wine. "If you were a Fairy Tail Mage, why didn't you use magic to defeat that monster?"

"Oh, because I didn't want to waste any magic. I already used a bit too much on my magic motorcycle. Besides, I wanted to test it, and I use an awful lot of magic whenever I fight using my magic."

"Azure-chan!" Grasping her hands, Eve's eyes sparkled. "Come back and visit Blue Pegasus whenever you want! We'll welcome you with happy arms!"

"That's right!" spoke Hibiki and Ren in unison.

"Hmmm...okay! Can I bring my friends along too?"

"Of course!" said all the Trimens. "...As long as they're female, of course."

"Really?" wondered Azure, making a cute pouty face. "Laki and Kinana's okay, but I wanted to invite Romeo and the others!"

"Romeo?! He must be a love rival then!" declared Eve with fire in his eyes.

"Haha...no," chuckled Kinana nervously, sweatdropping. _'Let's just hope he never meets Romeo-kun.' _

Later on, after saying their goodbyes to the Trimens and Ichiya, Kinana and Azure happily made their way back to the guild after eating such a satisfying lunch. "By the way, Azure-chan? I think that Eve has a crush on you," teased Kinana, giggling.

"A crush? Why does he want to crush me?"

The older woman sweatdropped, completely forgetting how oblivious Azure could be sometimes. "Um...Azure, I mean that he probably likes you."

"Now I'm confused!" said Azure, tilting her head. "He likes me, but he wants to crush me? That doesn;t make sense!"

"*sigh* Never mind."

* * *

><p><strong>Finished at long last! It'll be a while before the 6th annual Grand Magic Games, so stay tune! Don't worry, after a few more chapters, I'll announce the 6th Grand Magic Games! Read and review!<strong>


	9. Unexpected Reward

**I'm back with a bit of more Fairy Tail! Since some side characters are rarely seen, I decided to put them back to the spotlight!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

* * *

><p>"Waah! Why did our request location had to be somewhere cold?" complained Azure, shivering as she and Samuel walked through the snowy town, Fimbulvetr, where they picked a request that told them to go to Fimbulvetr so that their client could explain more details about their request.<p>

**Request: My company wishes to cut down some trees in an island a bit far away from where my company's from. However, I have no idea if the island is inhabited with monsters, and none of my members are monsters, so, I ask any Mage to help me! For further details, please meet at the D.M.O. building in Fimbulvetr. Reward: 10, 000 Jewels. **

"Well, the D.M.O. is a medical company, and Fimbulvetr is the perfect place to study and research medicine, so it would be kinda obvious," replied Samuel calmly.

"By the way, Samuel, what does D.M.O. stand for?"

"Deforestation Medical Operatives. It's one of the greatest medical companies in the world. The company cuts down a few trees from different regions to develop new medicine, and their main HQ is in Fimbulvetr."

Since Fimbulvetr was located in a cold region, they had to wear warmer clothing, though Samuel had to wear a small kid-sized fur coat, considering how small he was. Azure ended up with light winter clothing due to complaining that fur coats were much heavier, which was a fact. However, light winter clothes were less effective against the cold than heavy fur coats. Azure's hat wasn't suited for cold places, so she had to leave it at home and wear her jacket's hoodie, which at least had some fur to it.

"Hey, is this place it?" Azure wondered, pointing at the largest building she's seen in town. Samuel glanced at the request's coordinates and nodded his head. "Great! Let's get moving!"

Due to the busy hours and busy employees, Azure and Samuel had to wait a while before their meeting with the president of the company began, considering how famous the place was. Eventually, they were told to meet on the 12th floor, where the president's CEO office was located.

The president of the company was writing down some paperwork when his front door opened. He glanced up from his paperwork to see a young hooded boy and a flying cat enter.

"Hello, Mr. Pre-"

"Azure! You were supposed to knock first! That was rude!"

"Oops! You're right! Sorry! Let me start over!"

Both intruders quickly closed the door, making the president wonder what just happened before his door was knocked. Rolling his eyes, he called out, "Come in."

When Azure and her Exceed reentered the room, Azure pulled down her hoodie, her long dark hair cascading down her back as she rubbed her head sheepishly. "Oops! Sorry about that, Mr. President!"

"Next time, knock before you enter!" scolded Samuel, crossing his arms.

"Well, I'm sorry!"

"Are...are you two Mages?" asked the president, sweatdropping at the two's little argument. They couldn't possible be Mages, it just wasn't possible! They were just kids-Well, the girl seemed like a kid, and the other flying cat seems to be a Mage since he can fly, and last time he checked, cats don't fly.

"Huh? Yeah! Totally!" Taking off her left glove, Azure presented the Fairy Tail insignia on her left hand happily. "I'm from Fairy Tail, and so is Samuel! We're here for the request!"

"Fairy Tail, huh?"

Honestly, the president himself was surprised that Fairy Tail would send two young people like them to deal with this sort of mission. It was true Fairy Tail was possible the weakest guild in all of Fiore, but lately, there were rumors that Fairy Tail's recruited two new strong people. Could they be it...?

Samuel noticed the president's uneased and theorized that he was worried. "There's no need to worry, Mr. Hod. We may not look like it, but we are pretty strong. My calculations state there is an 80% chance we will succeed in this mission."

Mr. Hod, president of the D.M.O. company, perked up when his name was heard. "Oh? You know my name? Then, I guess we don't need any introductions then. Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't ask for your names."

"I'm Azure! Nice to meet you!" replied Azure, nodding her head. "And my flying cat here is Samuel! He's way smarter than me, but with the two of us together, we're practically unstoppable!"

"I see. But in order to do this request of mine, you two both have to be skilled and very strong Mages, understand?" said Mr. Hod a bit sternly.

"Yes, sir! We're plenty strong for that!"

Mr. Hod nodded in understandment. "Very well. Like I wrote in the request, we recently discovered an island surrounded by a large lake, only the lake wasn't frozen. Normally, lakes in frozen regions are frozen solid, but this one wasn't. Normally, I would send a party to go check out the island, but my men aren't fighters, so we requested any Mage to come along for a high price."

"I see. So, you want us to basically check if the island is dangerous or not," said Samuel. "What do we do if we do meet some monsters there?"

"If you have to, you can fight them," answered Mr. Hod. "I also want you to drive them away, so that when my men start to cut the trees there, the monsters won't interfere. It's possible we might have to hire more mages to help us out of self-defense when the time comes."

"But, you'll try not to hurt the monsters there, right?" asked Azure, concerned. She might not care about all monsters, but even monsters need a home to return to, and would gladly risk their lives defending it.

"We'll try not to kill the monsters there when we start working, but it's less likely."

"Oh...alright then. We'll at least check out the place." Azure wasn't completely satisfied about this request, since there was a high possibility there might be monsters there.

* * *

><p><em>Much later... <em>

"Azure! You're steering the wrong way!"

"Gah! Then it's this way?!"

"No! Now we're going in circles! Ugh, let me handle the rowing!"

"But you said yourself that you wanted to save your Magic Power for battle, and using your Battle Form takes up Magic Power! You said you were saving up for later! Let me handle this!"

"Gah!"

According to Samuel and the map, the island's location wasn't too far away, but Azure and Samuel had to rent a small boat to swim across a different lake, walk through a small forest, and they would finally appear near the unfrozen lake where the island was located.

Luckily for the Fairy Tail Mages, the island's location wasn't very far, about an hour or so to get there. Unfortunately for them, Azure was really terrible at rowing the boat, especially in a lake where chunks of ice were around, so if they made a mistake, the boat would crash and they would fall to the cold water, not that it would be any harmful to them, but they didn't want to get wet, especially when it was snowing a little.

When they finally reached the other side of land, Samuel and his companion panted heavily as they dragged their rented boat out of the water using some rope. They still had use for the boat, since it was needed for when they started to travel to the targeted island.

Under normal circumstances, since Azure is a Water Dragon Slayer, her lungs made it capable for her to breath underwater, and she could easily cast a water spell that could make Samuel breath underwater temporarily. However, in icy regions, there was a chance to get frozen underwater, and Azure and Samuel didn't want to test that out.

"Whew! We finally made it to land!" cheered Azure, throwing an air punch to the air happily. Even more, the small snowstorm seemed to have stopped, which makes their vision forward much clearer.

"Don't celebrate just yet. We still have to cross the forest, then get to the island," reminded Samuel, sighing after their little rowing adventure.

"Hmm? Do you hear that?" Hearing an eerie sound, Azure learned forward, trying to catch more and more sounds with her dragon slayer senses. "It sounds like...some sort of fight is going on."

"Well, ignore it. It's not our problem to begin with," said Samuel, shaking his head.

"Actually, it's in the direction we're headed, down in the forest." Azure pointed to the white-snowed covered forestm where she heard the sounds of battle coming from. She sniffed the air and spoke outloud, "It's faint, but I could smell two scents, and some monsters. So let's go help them, Samuel!"

Not waiting for his answer, Azure ran ahead, with the small Exceed running after her.

"Hold on, Azure! You don't even know who these people are!"

"That doesn't mean I can't spy on them!"

'Wha-?! You're resorting to spying!"

'Hey, if I can't help them, might as well spy on them, right?" As they were running, Azure looked over her shoulder to flash Samuel a grin before crashing straight into a tree.

Samuel facepalmmed. _'That idiot,' _he thought before rushing to Azure's aid as she fell to the ground and rubbed the red spot on her forehead, muttering "Ow, ow, ow..."

* * *

><p>"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Several eagles made of ice spreaded around and shot themselves at some monsters, finishing them off.<p>

"Whoa! That is so cool!" gasped Azure. She and Samuel had arrived at the battlefield not too long ago, and in order not to be seen, they used Samuel's wings to fly, and he was easily lifting up Azure by her small arms as they watched the battle from above.

Apparently, the two Mages who were dealing with the monsters were two young man. One had some sort of dog face, and was completely shirtless, though neither Samuel and Azure knew why, considering the cold weather. He seemed to have the ability to elongate and sharpen his nails, an smiliar ability that Samuel has. The only difference was that Samuel could only achieve the sharpness ability in his Battle Form, and his claws could shoot lasers as well.

The other Mage happened to be a handsome, cold-looking, silver-haired man who specializes in Ice-Make Magic, a magic that Azure knew that her possible brother, Gray Fullbuster, had. He seemed much more powerful than the dog-looking person, and very cool-headed in battle as well.

"Yeah! We defeated the monsters!" shouted the dog-looking person, triumphant in their victory.

"Don't rest yet, Toby," said the silver-haired man. "We still have to defeat some sort of huge monster that the people saw. They said it was around some sort of unfrozen lake."

"I know, I know! Jeez, these monsters are way weaker than I am!"

"Did you hear that, Samuel?" spoke up Azure. "Those guys said something about a big monster near some unfrozen lake, and we're going to that unfrozen lake anyways, so we should help them!"

"Azure, this is their problem! Not ours."

"But you know what they say: It'll be like killing two birds with one stone!"

"Azure, you don't even know if these people are good or not!" exclaimed Samuel. "I mean, just look at that weird person over there!" He was addressing to the man named Toby, who was still talking to the silver-haired man. "For all we know, he could be a stripper!"

Pouting, Azure crossed her arms. "Would a stripper really be out in the cold, half-naked?"

"...You may have a good point, but he's still possible a stripper!"

"And anyways, I-" Toby stopped arguing with his own silver-haired companion when he heard more loud voices coming from above. Glancing up, he saw a young girl flying in the air with wings and yelling about something.

"W-WHAT THE HELL?!"

Frowning, the silver-haired man also looked up and his eyes widen at the sight of the girl. He did notice a flying cat, more accurately, an Exceed, was holding onto her, explaining the reason why the girl was flying, but something else was of importance here.

The girl resembled a lot of like Gray, besides her long hair and very few feminine features. She had the same hair color, eye color, and some of the same facial features that Gray had. She was like a child-like, female version of Gray.

Hearing Toby's loud outburst, Samuel and Azure stopped arguing to see what was going on, only to realize that they were caught by the two Mages.

"...Damnit! We were too loud!" Samuel complained. "Now, what to do-"

"Hi!" called out Azure, waving at them. "We saw the whole battle! We're sorry for spying on you!"

"Azure!"

"Wait, they were spying on us?!" yelled Toby, more shocked than angry.

"What were you thinking, you idiot?! You don't just speak up and tell them that!'

"But it's the truth! Besides, they don't seem dangerous!"

Sighing, the silver-haired man, using both arms, began casting a spell. "Blizzard!" A much larger snowstorm than before started storming down around Azure and Samuel's area in the skies, and with the strong winds blowing their way, the two Fairy Tail mages fell to the ground, the snow softening their fall.

"Owie..." whined Azure, rubbing her arm as Samuel groaned, trying to stand.

Wasting no time, the Ice Mage prepared another one of his spells. "Ice-Make: Cage!" Full regaining consciousness, Azure and her small Exceed friend found themselves trapped in a cage made of ice.

"Wait, wait, wait! Why are we in a cage?! What did we do?!" exclaimed Azure, grabbing onto the icy bars. "Yikes! That's cold!"

"Calm down," assured the silver-haired man, bending down to her level. "I'll let you and your friend out, if you answer my questions."

"How'll we know that you'll keep your word?" questioned Samuel suspiciously.

"Please, if I wanted to, I would have taken the advantage of you two being distracted and finish you off up in the skies."

"..." Samuel grew silent, having no comment to counter that statement.

"Good. Now that I have your attention, who are you two?"

Before Samuel could say anything, Azure blurted out first. "I'm Azure, and this is my friend, Samuel!"

"Alright. Do you two belong to a guild?"

"Yup! Fairy Tail!" To prove it, Azure happily removed her glove to show her Fairy Tail insignia before turning Samuel around and lifting up his jacket and shirt, showing his Fairy Tail insignia as well.

"Gah! Azure!" Glaring at her, Samuel pulled his clothes back down, slightly embarrassed. "You don't just lift up clothes to prove who you are!"

"Sorry!"

"Huh, interesting," said the silver-haired man, rubbing his chin while in thought. _'Fairy Tail wizards, huh? I did hear that they were slowly getting better and that more requests were sent to them. Though, I've never met these two, so they must be new to Fairy Tail.' _

"You're from Fairy Tail? The weakest guild in all of Fiore?" asked Toby, curious.

That proclamation was enough to get Azure all rifled up at the claw-wielding man. "Hey! Fairy Tail isn't weak! You better watch your mouth, doggy! I won't hesitate to attack you, even if you look like a dog!"

"I'm not a dog! But I look like one!" argued Toby, angrily arguing back.

"Then why admit it?" mumbled Samuel, sweatdropping.

The silver-haired man cleared his throat, catching Azure and Samuel's attention. "ANYWAYS, what were you doing here in this frosty region?"

Before Azure could answer, Samuel interrupted her, "If it pleases you, I will answer this question. We have an assignment here and we were simply passing through."

"Oh? What sort of assignment?"

"A request to the guild."

"Hey, cat! That didn't answer our question!" shouted Toby, irritated.

"Ooh! Ooh!" Azure spoke up, raising her hand and reverting the silver-haired man's attention to her.

"Yes?"

"We were supposed to go to an island surrounded by unfrozen water and investigate it to see if there are monsters or not!"

"Azure! Seriously?!" yelled Samuel, eye twitching in annoyance. "Why would you bother answering their questions?!"

"Because, they asked! Besides, if we didn't, we'd be stuck in this cage, and I just want to hurry up with our job so we can get out of this cold!"

"Your friend has the good idea," pointed out the silver-haired man. "Don't worry, I'll keep my word. Now, why were you spying on us?"

"To be honest, I didn't want to spy on you," answered Azure truthfully before pointing to Samuel. "Samuel made me. I wanted to investigate in the forest after hearing some weird sounds, then Samuel forced me into the skies and we watched you and doggy fight some monsters! You were pretty cool, by the way!"

"Okay, fine. One last question, do you know anything about someone named Gray Fullbuster?"

Samuel perked up at this question. "Hey, that's not really relevant to the questions you've been asking us!"

"I did tell you I would free you if you answered my questions, correct? So then-"

"Oh! That's easy!" said Azure, snapping her fingers. "I know Gray! I'm his little sister!"

"..."

"..."

"...WHAT?!" screeched Toby.

"At least, I think so!"

"What do you mean, you think so?" questioned the silver-haired man, calming down as his shock faded away pretty fast. _'No, that can't be right! Gray's parents died a long time ago, before Gray met me and Ur! Maybe she's just using his last name, or she's just confused? Anyways, I'll listen to what she has to say.' _

"Well, 'Fullbuster' isn't a very common last name, and Fullbuster is my real last name, so that's why I think Gray's my older brother!" replied Azure, acting like it was an easy question to answer.

"How do you even know it's your real name?" the silver-haired man asked.

"Oh! I have this letter that states my real name!"

Samuel seemed to realize what she was talking about. "Hey, Azure? Are you sure it's okay to show some stranger that note?"

"Totally!" Scrambling through her bag, Azure pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper before unfolding it as neatly as possible before trying to reach out to the silver-haired man through the bars. "After you're done reading, can you give it back?"

"Sure." Taking the piece of paper, the silver-haired man began to read it to himself, his eyes scanning through the neatly handwritten piece of paper despite it being crumpled seconds ago. He also noticed dried bloodstains on the paper, but he was still able to read it.

_**To anyone who finds my daughter,**_

_**My time is running out, and I cannot live for much longer. All I can hope is for someone to take care of my little girl. She was born a few months ago, and her name is Azure Fullbuster. If possible, could you find her father, Silver Fullbuster, so he could take care of her if no one is willing to take care of her?**_

_**Please, I beg a kind person to take care of my little girl. She's all I have left after Silver left. Please. Azure, know that I will always watch over you and love you, no matter what you become.**_

_**From, your dear loving mother, Akia.** _

_'Normally, I wouldn't believe a letter like this because she might have forged it,' _thought the silver-haired man, glancing at Azure as he handed back her letter. _'But given the bloodstains, I can tell those bloodstains are real. But, this doesn't make sense. Gray once told me his father's name was Silver. Maybe it's all some sort of coincidence?' _

"...Mister? Mister! Hello!"

"H-huh?" A bit startled, the silver-haired man turned to Azure, who was waving her hands around, trying to get his attention. "What?"

"Wasn't there more questions you needed to ask us? I'm getting colder and colder here!"

"No, I guess that's all. I don't think you and your friend are a threat."

Even though they weren't exactly a threat to the silver-haired man and his companion, Toby, Azure and Samuel weren't exactly trustworthy either, since they did meet for the first time. If Azure and her friend choose to ambush them, the silver-haired man was more than enough to take them on, depending on how strong they were. Given Fairy Tail's low reputation, the silver-haired man concluded they might not be too strong.

Samuel stood up from his seat. "You're finally letting us go? Finally."

"Oh!" Speaking up, Azure unsheathed her sword before saying, "You think you could stand back, mister? You too, doggy."

"I'm not a dog, damnit!"

Curious, and a bit cautious, the silver-haired man nodded before he and his friend stepped back, wondering what Azure was about to do. Azure bended her knees a little and took a stance with a grin on her face.

Letting out a cry, from bottom right to upper left, she diagonally slashed at the ice bars, following with a horizontal slash, then finally another diagonal slash, thus slicing the ice bars in front of her. Normally, slashes from swords wouldn't really have any effect to bars made of ice, since they were thick and tough. But, if someone was a master swordsman or at least, a skilled average one, like Azure, and with better concentration, they could slice through the ice-like bars.

"Gaaah! She sliced through the bars!" cried out Toby, shocked. The silver-haired man was a little taken aback by this as well, but more impressed and felt his trust for her increased, just a little bit. This was due because if Azure really wanted to escape, she could have done so already, but she stayed put and answered all of his questions patiently.

"...Azure."

"Yes, Samuel?"

"If you could slice through the bars, why didn't you do it before?!"

"Oh! I wanted to know what the mister had to say along with dog guy!"

"I'm not a dog for crying out loud!"

Samuel sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. Sometimes, he didn't understand his best friend, even though they've been together for a very long time. Turning to the silver-haired man, he asked, "Alright, what are you going to do to us now?"

"Nothing. If I wanted to fight you, I would have done do already," said the silver-haired man, crossing his arms.

"Mister, may I ask you something?" wondered Azure politely as she sheathed her sword.

"What is it?"

"What do you and doggy person going to do now?"

"I'm not a dog!"

"Hmm...I suppose we'll continue doing our mission."

"Oh! You mean the one where you had to go find and hunt down some strong monster that might be around the unfrozen lake?"

"...You eavesdropped, didn't you?" deadpanned the Ice mage.

"Yup!"

Samuel really felt like banging his head against a tree right now. If this kept up, they might not only deal with monsters, but also enemies. And already, Azure's already agitated the one named Toby. Knowing her, it probably wouldn't take long for Azure to make the silver-haired man angry as well.

"Ooh! I have a suggestion!" said Azure happily. "How about we team up? Me and Samuel are planning on going to the island with the unfrozen lake, and you two want to hunt down the monster near the lake, so it'll be like perfect timing!"

"No, Azure. I'm pretty sure we can handle this on our own," said Samuel, tugging onto her pants.

"But what if the monsters are super strong on the island? With Mister here, and doggy person, we might stand a chance!"

"For the last time, I'm not a dog!"

"Hmm..." The silver-haired man thought carefully about what to do. The monster they were requested to hunt down might be very powerful, considering the huge reward enlisted in the request, so allies might be good. "...Azure, how strong are you and Samuel?"

"We-"

"Nothing! We have nothing to say to you!" shouted Samuel, flying up and covering Azure's mouth with both his paws. "Why don't YOU tell us what type of Magic you have?"

"Fair enough," agreed the silver-haired man. "I did ask you all those questions first, after all. I specialize in Ice-Maker Magic."

"The same magic as Gray Fullbuster? Interesting..."

"Ha! I'm not telling you guys a thing!" scoffed Toby. "I'm not telling you anything about my Super Paralyzing Mega Jellyfish Claw technique!"

"You just did, doofus," stated Samuel, annoyed.

"Gah! How'd you figure it out?!" cried out Toby. "Grr...well, you'll never figure out the effects!"

"Mmph! Mmph!" Azure moved Samuel's paws away from her mouth and excitedly answered, "They paralyze people!"

"GAAAH! HOW'D YOU KNOW?!"

"Is this guy a dumbass?" muttered Samuel, more annoyed at how idiotic Toby is.

"...Don't mind him. He's always like that," assured the silver-haired man, who was also as annoyed as the Exceed was.

Azure turned to the silver-haired man and said, "Okay! Now that you revealed your magic, it's our turn! Samuel's like, real strong! He can transform into a big cat and way more physically strong than I am! As for me, I'm super stronger than Samuel in terms of Magic Power, and I'm a Dragon Slayer!"

"A Dragon Slayer?!" To the silver-haired man, he only knew a few Dragon Slayers, like Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel, but they all died 6 years ago when Tenrou Island was destroyed by Acnologia. The other few Dragon Slayers that were still alive were the infamous Twin Dragons of Sabertooth.

Samuel groaned, covering his face with his paws. "Damnit, Azure..." Shaking his head, Samuel snapped out of it before turning to the silver-haired man. "By the way, you never told us your names."

"Oh, that's right. I'm Lyon, and this is Toby. We're both from Lamia Scale."

"Lyon? Toby? Oh! Those are cool names!' piped up Azure. "So 'Toby' is doggy's name? Sweet!"

"I'm not a doggy!"

"Wait, do you mean Lyon Vastia?" questioned Samuel, going through his notepad. 'As in, the famous Lyon from Lamia Scale?!"

"Yes, that is correct." Lyon nodded his head.

Samuel calmed down a few moments later, letting a breath of relief escape him. "Well, given the evidence of your Ice-Make Magic I've seen so far, I can conclude you are indeed Lyon Vastia. With you and...and Toby by our side, our success rate for this mission has dramatically increased."

"Thank you...I guess?"

"Samuel, enough with all the smart talk," complained Azure. "Besides, we totally gotta hurry up with our mission! I totally don't wanna stay here too much!" She hugged herself, shivering as her cold breath was seen in the air. "And I hate the cold!"

"...You like to swim in cold, icy water, yet you hate the cold in winter regions?" questioned Samuel, baffled. "Sometimes, I just don't understand you, Azure."

"Gah! I just realized something! We left our boat back at the shore! Now we have to go back for it!" cried out Azure, ruffling the sides of her hair furiously.

"Hold on. You might not need to do that," said Lyon. "I can use my magic to make a boat for us."

Samuel looked up at the Ice Mage. "You mean, use Ice-Make Magic to create a boat made of ice? It's not much, but as long as it's stable, we should be alright."

"Really?!" exclaimed Azure, her worries quickly dissipating. "Sweet! Can I row the boat?"

"NO!"

* * *

><p><em>Later, on the island... <em>

"Well, the people certainly weren't lying when they said that the island was surrounded by unfrozen water," spoke up Lyon as soon as he and his companions arrived on shore.

"Right! Let's do finish our jobs!" reminded Azure, throwing a punch excitedly at the air.

"Hold on. We need to be careful. Who knows what dangers awaits us," said Samuel, taking cautious steps into the snow-filled tropical forest. "If we're careless, we might end up dead."

"HEY! I'm not dead!" yelled Toby, as if someone was accusing him of doing something troublesome.

"Not you, idiot!" It's only been an hour since they met, and already, Samuel was experiencing more than one headache right now.

"Hey, since we're cooperating together, we never did get to sharing our rewards when we were all done," spoke Azure, bringing to everyone's attention.

Samuel, Toby, and Lyon knew she had a point there. They were too fixiated on other things to think about the rewards, specifically the amount of Jewels they would receive from their different missions. Since they were in a temporary alliance, they might as well discuss it now.

"Our mission's reward was about 6,000 Jewels," revealed Toby.

"All that just to defeat one monster? It might be very powerful then," commented Samuel, surprised.

Lyon nodded. "It is. In fact, it's an Ice Serpent."

"Ooh! That sounds pretty cool!" complimented Azure, even though she had no knowledge of such a monster.

"Do you even know what sort of monster it is?"

"Kinda! It's some sort of serpent-snake monster that breathes ice, doesn't it?"

"Not exactly." Samuel climbed up a tall rock to devert the attention to him before he began explaining. "You see, an Ice Serpent is a very strong creature that lingers in the snowy regions, but they are rarely seen. They can't breath ice, like you mentioned, Azure, but they have a strong resistance to ice magic, and usually lives underwater, but they're usually sleeping underwater or hunting in the forest. Mostly sleeping. Should we encounter this monster, this is about a 45% percent chance of victory."

"Yikes, that low, huh?" muttered Azure, as if getting hit by an imaginary attack. "Lyon, are you sure you're not some Ice Dragon Slayer?"

"If I was, I would have already mentioned it. Besides, the Ice Serpent may be strong, but unlike humans, it's not very intelligent either."

"Let's check out the island, already. Maybe we might find the Ice Serpent or something," suggested Samuel. "Besides, I might find some new information to put in my notes as well."

Azure hopped from one small cliff to another, reaching the small plain fields in the tropical forest. "Well, what are we waiting for? Hurry up! I wanna see the forest!"

"Hang on, Azure!" called Samuel, flying after her as she ventured deeper into the unknown depths of the forest.

"Might as well follow them," mumbled Lyon before he and Toby ran after them, preparing themselves to face any dangers inside the forest. As they explored in the forest, they encountered monsters there, which wasn't a surprise, since they somewhat expected there to be enemies. But, they had a strange feeling about them.

Eventually, they arrived at a huge river that flowed towards the ocean and decided to rest there for a while.

"So far, the monsters aren't all that powerful," spoke Samuel, going through his notes on the types of monsters they encountered. "With the right level of Mages, the D.M.O. should be able to take over this island, right Azure? Huh?"

Azure, who was staring at her clear reflection in the water with a distress look, was in thought of something, not listening to what Samuel said. She was more focused on the stange behaviors that the monsters had.

Sure, she and the others showed no mercy to their enemies, but only a few monsters attacked them. The others ran off, even though they looked like they wanted to pick a fight. That bothered Azure somewhat, and she wanted to know why.

Lyon seemed to have guessed what Azure was thinking, because he was also wondering the same thing. He was suspicious of the monster's actions of running off instead of fighting them. Maybe a little investigation is in order.

"Azure? You want to go together with me for a while?" suggested Lyon, walking up to her and offering a hand.

Before she could comply, Samuel flew between the two of them, his arms spread as if to protect his friend. "Hold on! If you're going, then so shall I!"

"Samuel, it's alright," assured Azure, gently pushing past Samuel and stepping up in front of Lyon. "Besides, if Lyon does something wrong to me, I'll just kick his ass!"

_'Er...right,' _thought Lyon, sweatdropping as he lowered his arm. "Toby, you stay here with the cat-"

"My name is Samuel!"

"Oh, sorry. Toby, you stay here with Samuel. We'll be back soon. I want to investigate something."

Wasting no time at all, Lyon and Azure headed past the tall, snow-covered trees and deep into the winter forest, considering the cold environment. As they were walking together on a snowy path, leaving their footprints behind, Lyon asked, "So, what did you think?"

"Huh? About what?"

"About the monsters. They seemed a bit strange, don't you think?"

Azure sighed in relief before smiling. "Yeah! But..." She frowned, pondering for a bit. "I wonder what's wrong. It was like...maybe they didn't want to fight us because we were crazy strong? Well, I don't want to fight unless neccessary either."

"That's why I wanted you to come with me," said Lyon. "I thought you might be able to sniff this out." Taking something out of his pocket, Lyon showed her two oranges, but they seemed to be half-eaten.

"Oranges? In this kind of environment?" Leaning in close, Azure sniffed the oranges, catching two scents. "Hmm...One scent's the orange, but the other one's a monster. Probably one of the monsters that ran away."

"So? Can you pinpoint the monster's location?"

"Sure can!" said Azure, saluting to the Ice-Make Mage. "Let's see...Oh! That way!" Grabbing Lyon's hand, she began sniffing the scent's trail that the monster had left behind.

"Hold on! Slow down a moment, Azure!"

* * *

><p><em>A little bit later, with Samuel and Toby... <em>

Toby was sitting on the ground, fishing for something good to eat as Samuel was sitting comfortably somewhere close, reading a novel he brought along. Just when Toby was about to dooze off out of boredom, he yelped when he noticed some blurry shadow in the water swim by at a fast speed.

"Um...Samuel?"

"What?" The Exceed glanced up from his book, annoyed at being interrupted. He was just getting to the good part when this dog-like man just had to interupt his reading time!

"I-I think there's something in the water!" Toby dropped his fishing rod and stood up, cautious and a little scared, not that he would dare admit it.

"Knowing you, it's probably just a catfish." With that said, Samuel went back to reading.

"But...it looked a bit too _big_ to be a catfish..." Toby squinted his eyes carefully, trying to make sure that what he say wasn't an illusion.

Suddenly, a bigger shadow swam by, much faster, causing Toby to cry out and fall down.

"There it is again!"

Sighing, Samuel put away his book and looked at the river, only to see nothing but cold, calm waters. "Nothing's th-"

Out from the river, a snake-like monster with sky blue-colored skin with dark blue eyes and the largest fangs anyone's seen bursted out of the river. It hissed and slithered, around, seeing Toby and Samuel with its wide eyes before leaping forward with its fangs wide open.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"MOVE!" Grabbing Toby by the shoulders, Samuel spread his wings and flew upwards into the air, dodging the rash attack in time.

"GAAAAH! That is one giant snake!" screamed Toby, freaked out.

"To be more accurate, it's an Ice Serpent," corrected the intelligent Exceed. "But enough of that for now. There's not much information about Ice Serpents, but it's said that their skin is thick. We'll have to buy time for Azure and Lyon to come back."

"Heh, not to worry!" assured Toby, unsheathing his green paralyzing claws. "I can take this guy!"

"Knowing you, you'd be dead in less than a minute, so I can't leave you alone. All we can do is hope for them to come back soon. Oh, and I'm dropping you now."

"Alright! ...WAIT, WHAT?!"

After releasing Toby's shoulders, and hearing him scream until he landed in a soft pile of snow, it only took a few seconds for Samuel to transform from his small, normal form to his Battle Mode. Instead of his usual cocky smirk whenever he uses Battle Mode, it was replaced with a worried and confused look.

Normally, whenever he fights, he usually wins, since he knows a lot of tactics and strategies to use, even if he doesn't know about his opponent first. If he does know his opponent's moves, it'll help improve his tactics even further. However, since there wasn't much information on the creature he was fighting, and given the Ice Serpent's body structure, this was one of the battles that Samuel couldn't tell if he could win or not. Even worse, Azure and Lyon, the trump cards in his team, weren't here. And even though Samuel knew he was much more physically stronger than Azure, he couldn't beat her immense amount of magic power.

"Hey! Cat!" yelled Toby angrily, getting up from the snow he landed on. "Next time, warn me before you start dropping me! You're pretty damn lucky that the snow cushioned my fall!"

Hearing Toby's loud, not to mention, annoying, outburst, Samuel groaned. _'...And another reason to hate dogs. I knew it was the right choice to reject Azure's offer about getting a dog companion that one time.' _He stared at the Ice Serpent, who was also staring back, watching his every move.

Even though Toby and Samuel couldn't defeat the Ice Serpent, they could at least hold it back.

* * *

><p><em>With Lyon and Azure... <em>

"Hey! Hey! Look over there, Lyon! I see some monsters!"

"Hold on, Azure!"

To Lyon, it was like chasing after an energetic 5 year old that was on a sugar rush. If Samuel had been Azure's companion for a very, _VERY_, long time, the Ice-Make Mage would have felt sorry for the Exceed.

Soon enough, the two of them arrived at what seemed to be some sort of campsite. They saw small and cute-looking animal-like monsters, roaming around and playing games. Some of them were eating small vegetables, some sleeping, and the others were doing whatever they were doing. They seemed like harmless little creatures.

However. Lyon and Azure recognized some of the monsters were the ones they had fought before and had escaped. In fact, those injured monsters saw Lyon and Azure, and began to speak in their own animal language. Whatever they said caused all the monsters in the campsite to gather around and form some sort of wall to protect their campsite.

"Hold on! We're not here to fight or anything!" cried out Azure, shaking her head frantically.

The other monsters didn't seem to listen to her as they were glaring at both her and Lyon, preparing to attack if they made any sudden movements.

Knowing the position they were in, Lyon thrusted his arm forward, about to activate his Magic Seal. "Looks like we have no choice but to fight..."

"Wait just a moment!" pleaded Azure, turning to him before taking several steps back.

She crotched down, steadied her breathing, then took off right into the direction of the monsters. However, instead of attacking them head on, she jumped off the ground with one foot, and somersaulted once in the air before landing a few centimeters from the monsters, close enough to get to the injured ones.

"Azure-!" cried out Lyon, reaching a hand for her. Seeing a small stream right next to her, Azure began using her Magic to manipulate some of the water and placed the water on one of the monster's injuries. Luckily, the injured monsters couldn't move, so they simply watched what she was doing.

The water magic Azure was controlling began to glow silvery-blue, illuminating just a little, but enough to attract everyone's attention. Lyon, along with the rest of the monsters, watched in amazement as the monster's wounds began to disappear slowly, but effectively.

Azure's spell, namely Water Dragon Slayer's Healing, was just a simple healing spell passed down by her dragon parent, Nereus. Healing magic was rare, but because Azure focused more on offense and defense in battle, she only had one supportive healing spell. However, the more water there was, the more effective her spell was.

One by one, Azure began healing all of the monsters that were injured, and slowly, the other monsters that had viewed her and Lyon as a threat, were backing down and watching her heal. When she was finally finished, all the monsters she healed backed away from her, as if saying they wouldn't attack her anymore.

"You can use healing magic?" asked Lyon, astonished as he stepped towards Azure, helping her stand up.

"Only a little bit! But, I'm more of a fighter than a healer!"

Then, a rabbit-like creature tugged on Azure's pants, wanting something from her. When it got the attention it needed, the rabbit creature began to draw something on the snow with its small paw before backing away to show its drawing.

It was a drawing of some sort of long snake, and an X-mark.

"Wait...is the snake supposed to represent the Ice Serpent?" wondered Lyon, taking a guess. "And...X's are meant to be to take out, or eliminate..."

_"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" _

With her Dragon Slayer senses, Azure heard Toby's scream coming from afar, probably from all the way from their campsite. "Doggy's in danger!" she cried out, grabbing Lyon's wrist. Without warning, she starter sprinting back to the campsite, forcing Lyon to come with her.

"Hey! Not again!"

* * *

><p><em>Back with Toby and Samuel... <em>

The Ice Serpent that's similar to a snake swiftly raises its head up, lashing its tail at Samuel, who was still flying in mid-air. The end of the tail was very sharp and had somewhat a dagger's edge, as if it could cut up anything with it's long and dangerous tail.

Noticing yet another lash attack coming from the monster, the exhausted Samuel flew higher, managing to dodge the dagger-like tail in time. When the tail was brought down to the ground, Toby jumped out of the way to avoid the shockwave.

For the past few minutes, both Toby and Samuel had struggled against this fiercious snake monster, trying to find the weak spots of the monster. So far, the only one they found was the forehead, but it was only a small spot of the forehead, as in the center of it. In fact, both Mages were receiving a lot more damage, and they were almost out of Magic due to overuse of their Magic. At the very least, they have at least 10 minutes worth of Magic left before they completely run out.

"Take this!" panted Samuel, thrusting his claws towards the Ice Serpent. One of his special abilities while in Battle Mode, was to use a special Claw Beam attack, which would increase his claw's length and shoot out strong, powerful purple lasers.

His lasers accurately blasted the center of the Ice Serpent, greatly injurying the Ice Serpent. Squirming with a severe wound, the Ice Serpent began coiling its long sneak-like body around and around before swiftly striking with its long sharp tail. This time, it swung from high right to left, sending both Samuel and Toby to crash against some trees from the impact of the tail attack.

"Owww..." groaned Toby as he and Samuel slowly got up, despite their rough wounds. The Ice Serpent was also injured, but not as much as the two Mages, and it was still active, and increased its desire for prey.

"Samuel! Doggy!"

Out of the snowy forest came Azure and Lyon, who had rushed back to the campsite with all of their strength, resulting in them getting tired from running so much.

"Oh, NOW you show up!" Toby complained indignantly. "And my name is Toby! TOBY! Not Doggy!"

"Never mind that!" said Samuel, winching. "Look, the skin is tough, and the weak spot is the center of the forehead!"

"We'll take it over from here," said Lyon, readying his Magic with both his hands.

"Yeah!" Unsheathing her sword, Azure also got as serious as Lyon, her energetic determination turning into a silent, cold one as both faced off against the Ice Serpent, who waited for them impatiently.

To even the battlefield, Lyon started to cast an Ice-Make familiar spell that would match the Ice Serpent. "Ice-Make: Water Serpent!" Out of his Magic Seal, a large serpent made of water started to spiral around the Ice Serpent, and once it made contact, the water familiar began to turn frozen, trapping the Ice Serpent.

However, the frozen familiar serpent started showing cracks as the Ice Serpent struggled to break free. In no time, the Ice Serpent would be freed, but for a few more seconds, it was vulnerable to any attacks, even though the skin was very thick.

Leaping around, using the cracking frozen serpent as a launch pad, Azure advanced closer and closer to the Ice Serpent, wielding her sword on her right side. Letting out a battle cry, Azure lunged forward, slashing at the Ice Serpent's forehead, since she couldn't accurately stab her sword at the smallest weak point on its forehead.

The Ice Serpent roared, finally shattering the icy, spiral prison trapping it before coiling its body around to defend itself. In mid-air, Azure couldn't do anything to defend herself and was forced to take a hit, causing her to crash down at the snowy grounds with no defense to protect her from another strike coming from the Ice Serpent.

"Ice-Make: Shield!"

A large shield made entirely out of ice formed in front of Azure, shattering into pieces as soon as the Ice Serpent's tail made contact with it. The only person who could have created this spell was none other than Lyon, who saved Azure.

"Get out of there, now!" yelled Lyon, before producing another ice shield to cover Azure. She nodded curtly before jumping back in time to see another blow from the Ice Serpent destroy the ice shield.

For the next several minutes or so, Lyon and Azure tried their best to dodge or block any of the Ice Serpent's strong attacks, especially since it excels in speed, strength, and defense. Though Lyon's ice-cold Ice-Maker Magic, and Azure's skilled and sharp sword techniques managed to hit the Ice Serpent's weak point several times, it felt like they were hitting an iron wall over and over.

Samuel and Toby could only watch from the back since they had taken a lot of damage in the first part of the battle. They couldn't do anything to assist the two, but Azure and Lyon were pretty strong, considering there was a powerful Ice-Maker master, and a Dragon Slayer fighting side-by-side.

Lyon's Ice-Make Magic couldn't harm much towards the Ice Serpent, due to the high ice resistance it had. For Azure, it was a different story, since she could strike its weak point with the tip of her sword, which was causing the Ice Serpent to effectively weaken time to time. Also, since there was a river nearby, Azure could always produce healing to Lyon or herself whenever neccessary, and sometimes use her Water Dragon Slayer Magic to defend, but the offensive spells didn't do much against the Ice Serpent.

The strategy was simple: Lyon would stand by and distract the Ice Serpent with his Magic, and Azure would be the damage-dealer in the battle, trying to reach the Ice Serpent's forehead to finish it off. If Lyon got severely injured during the battle, he would attack from a far-range, and Azure would use her Water Dragon's Healing spell on him until his wounds recovered.

Finally, about 40 minutes passed, and both Azure and Lyon were exhausted, but the Ice Serpent looked ready to collapse at any minute as well. As they fought, Lyon examined Azure as she fought. Although they were different, he could almost see Gray in her, especially the cold, determined look in her eyes, resembling Gray's whenever he got serious.

"Lyon!" hollered Azure, pulling her sword back before taking a stance. "I need another boost!"

"Understood! Ice Make: Rampart!" Unleasing an immense amount of Magic Power, Lyon created a large wall of ice underneath Azure, bringing her up high in the sky, much higher than the Ice Serpent. However, that was all she needed.

With a sharp cry, Azure leaped from her position and got close to the Ice Serpent's head in an instant. As soon as her feet landed on top of the head, she felt the Ice Serpent begin to move, so she jumped up as high as she could, her body tilting to the right as she placed both hands on her sword's hilt and started gathering her Magic power around her blade, a swirling mass of water surrounding the blade to increase the sharpness.

The swirling, small typhoon surrounding the blade caused Lyon to shield his eyes with his arm. With the help of the sun, the blade shined from the sunlight, making the water swirling around the sword illuminate as well, for only an instant.

"WATER DRAGON'S JIGSAW HORN!"

Screaming the name of the spell outloud, Azure rammed the tip of her sword straight into the center of the Ice Serpent's forehead, hearing the skull from the inside shatter and crack. The Ice Serpent let out a high-pitched shrill cry before its entire, large body collapsed in the river, blood pouring from the forehead after Azure took out her sword.

Sighing in relief, Lyon began relaxing his body, happy that the monster they were requested to eliminate was now destroyed. He knew it would be a tough monster, but he never expected such a thing to be this tough.

Azure dipped her bloody sword into the river as soon as half her body was in the river, watching the blood being washed away before placing it back to her scabbard and staring blankly at the dead Ice Serpent. She blinked for a few seconds, the cold look in her eyes disappearing with a joyful one before she gave into a smile.

The petite girl swam to shore, than ran over to the exhausted Lyon, jumping up and down in victory. "Yay! Yay! We did it, Lyon!"

Lyon merely nodded his head, too exhausted to speak for the moment. That was indeed one of the toughest opponents he's fought throughout his life, and, not that he enjoyed fighting, but he would try to avoid such monsters like the Ice Serpent so he could grow stronger.

Then, out from the bushes, a small rabbit monster started hopping towards Azure, carrying something in its mouth. When it approached by her feet, it dropped a small red gem.

"Hmm?" Bending down, she picked the gem up and stared at it in astonishment. "Oh, thank you!"

"...I think I get it now," said Lyon.

"Get what?" Azure turned to the Lamia Scale Mage, confused.

"I mean, I think I knew why those monsters before were attacking us. They were trying to protect their home, and I mean this island. And, the Ice Serpent is a predator to small animals, so it might have taken over this island and was eating the animals here. That explains the picture one of those animals showed us, and the X-mark."

"What are you two talking about?" questioned Samuel. Since he and Toby never went with Lyon or Azure, both didn't know about their encounter with the peaceful monsters in their own campsite.

"Well, it's a long story," said Azure before she and Lyon began explaining.

* * *

><p><em>Later at the D.M.O. HQ... <em>

The president of the company was filling out some paperwork in his office when he was told by his secretary that some Mages were here to see him. Knowing full well who she was talking about, the president allowed them in, though he was surprised to see Toby and Lyon with the Mages he hired, seeing how they weren't there with them the first time he met Azure and Samuel.

"Well, you're certainly back soon. And who are these two new people?"

"Oh, they helped me and Samuel out during the request," answered Azure, addressing to both Lamia Scale members.

"I see. So, how was the island? Is it safe?"

"Um..."

Azure grew silent, quietly biting her lower lip as she tried to say something. Lyon and Toby only followed her and Samuel after they got their own reward money just to see what might happen. Actually, Lyon wanted to hear Azure's response to her client after they learned that there were harmless, innocent monsters protecting their island, and Toby had to be dragged along because Lyon was his guild member.

"The island...The island is crawling with wyverns!"

"Ehhh?!" The president, Samuel, and Toby cried out, shocked. The president was shocked because wyverns were a fierce, powerful race and similar to dragons, and Samuel and Toby's reason for freaking out was due to Azure making up a lie.

_'Huh, amusing,' _thought Lyon, crossing his arms as he continued to listen to Azure's fake story.

"Y-Yeah! Great, big, and really strong wyverns!" continued Azure, frailing her arms around. "One was the size of a...huge tree! Another could shoot out...lightning and fire! And explosions! Boom! Boom! We were...pretty lucky to escape! Yeah!"

Amazingly, the president seemed to have believe the young girl. "Wyverns...why did it have to be wyverns?"

"What are you talking about?" questioned Toby, oblivious to the fake story. "There were no wy-"

Almost instantly, Samuel kicked at Toby's leg so hard, he started howling like a wolf and fell to the ground, clinging onto the wound on his leg that might turn into a nasty bruise. "OWWWWW!"

"Anyways, it's a bad idea to try cutting down trees there!" said Azure quickly. "So, try at a different area!"

The president sighed in disappointment. "I see. You're right. Well, thank you for at least trying. I'll give you the reward now."

Azure shook her head, denying the offer of so much money. "It's alright. We couldn't finish the task, so we don't need any reward."

_'Wait, really? I never expected this,' _thought Lyon more surprised, and impressed by her courtesy. Most people would jump at the chance for money, even if they were lying, but it seems even Azure has limits to being selfish. Maybe Gray would have done the same thing?

Once they were outside of the HQ building, Samuel sighed, bringing his red scarf closer to himself. "So much for all that money..."

Azure frowned, crossing her arms. "What's wrong, Samuel? I didn't think you cared so much for money."

"Because, Azure! It was 10,000 Jewels! We could have easily paid for the guild's fees from last month! Maybe this month too!"

"Hey, why did you give up the reward?" asked Toby, confused as he scratched his head. "If it was me, I would have taken it easily!"

"Eh...there's always next time," assured Azure, shrugging off the huge amount of money she and Samuel could have gotten. "Besides, I didn't really care about the money as long as it saved those innocent animals. But..."

She turned to Lyon and bowed her head a bit. Samuel always told her that if she truly wanted to apologize to someone, she had to bow her head in respect and apologize with words.

"Sorry, Lyon. We had an alliance, and me and Samuel can't really give you anything in return. So much for our alliance, huh?"

Instead of getting mad, Lyon shook his head. "No, it's okay. You don't need to give us a reward."

"Hmm...But I still feel bad," pouted Azure, pondering on what to do with an adorable, clueless expression on her face. "Ah! I know! Next time, with the right materials, I'll cook you something good! Oh! And doggy too!"

"I'm not a dog, damnit!"

Lyon let a small smile form in his face. The cheeky grin Azure gave him was a lot like the same grin he remembered Gray having when they were still young, acting as kids. "Sure, that's fine."

"Thanks, onii-chan!" squealed Azure, giggling before taking Samuel in her arms and skipping ahead happily.

"You're wel-" He paused when he realized what she said. "I'm not your onii-chan!"

But it was too late. Azure and Samuel were already ahead of him.

* * *

><p><strong>Heya, guys! Thanks WhatIfStoryTeller for helping me out in this chapter, even if it was for a little bit! Next chapter is an OC profile for Azure, explaining almost everything about her! I'll also include Samuel's! Oh, and there's a 3 more chapters before the GMG 6th events arc comes!<strong>


	10. OCs Profile!

**Ok! I'm now completely free of any tests or quizzes for the weekend, so I'll get started on some OC profiles! I'll also include Samuel's profile, but I should let you know that he's not really an OC.**

**Samuel is really an Exceed created in the Anime in the whole Zentopia Arc thing. If you want to look him up, do it in the Wiki, but I'll include his profile and some new things about him.**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! And Mage of Hope also does not own Samuel, but just doing some major changes. **

* * *

><p>Name: Azure Fullbuster<p>

Gender: Female

Species: Human

Age: 13 (currently)

Generation: 1st Generation

Nicknames: Usagi (Named by Romeo), Flatchest (Named by Romeo), Girly, Midget, and later, Aqua Berserker.

Appearance and signature clothing: Long dark hair that flows down her back, but her long hair is usually held up and hidden inside her black cap, making her look like a boy. She has blue eyes that usually brightens up with joy, and she usually have the look of a cute and adorable young boy. Her clothing consists of some baggy pants, a dark indigo-colored shirt covered with a light breastplate, dark fingerless gloves, black shoes, and a black overcoat with a collar that covers her neck. Whenever she's serious, her expression straightens and her eyes grow sharp, able to scare a few weak-willed people that way. She's very petite for her age, but just a little taller than Romeo, and her chest is undeveloped, resulting in some insulting nicknames by some people.

Personality: She's cheerful and the usual happy-to-go kind of person most of the time. She tries her best to cheer anyone up whenever they're sad and always shown with a grin or smile. Not only that, but she's also tomboyish as well, never wearing any girly clothes and mostly just male clothing. Most of the time, she's honest and doesn't hesitate to speak out her thoughts, which gets her in trouble a lot. She also seems mischievous and sneaky sometimes, and acts rashly without thinking straight, leading disastrous results in the end. She's also not very smart and very oblivious to major things.

Due to being tomboyish, wearing boy clothes, and hiding her long hair in her cap, people often mistake her as a boy, which happened to be a common mistake. Sometimes, Azure gets annoyed, but most of the time, whenever people refers to her as a male, she corrects them and show off her long hair, which would surprise them since she resembles a boy a lot.

In battle or any other serious situation, it's revealed she is highly intelligent in battle and thinking strategies, due to Samuel. She is secretly sensitive whenever anyone scolds or yells at her, so she vents all her negative emotions into battle. This results in her being a nearly emotionless, cold-hearted, silent, calm, and serious person whenever in battle. She also doesn't talk unless absolutely necessary and is very stubborn. Also, she wouldn't hesitate to kill, depending on the situation.

Guild: Fairy Tail

Magic: Water Dragon Slayer Magic (Caster Type Magic)

Water Dragon Slayer Magic: Since Azure is the Water Dragon Slayer, she can manipulate the water, whether it's her magic or from outside sources of water. In addition, if she's close enough to an outside source of water, she can heal herself and absorb water to rejuvenate her strength as well as others, depending on the amount of water. She cannot change the temperature of her water spells, meaning she can't make it hot or cold, but she is absolutely immune to getting wet in cold or hot water, but will not enter dangerous waters that might risk her life. As the Water Dragon Slayer, she can also breath underwater as long as she wants due to her special lungs from the magic, as well as fight more easily.

Azure's rare type of Magic can provide a bit of healing to herself and others as long as there was water. She cannot heal using her own Magic, only other outside sources of water. While her healing spells may help others, including herself, her healing skills are weaker than Wendy's, making Wendy the better healer. In addition, Azure can only heal, not provide other supportive spells such as increasing speed or strength like Wendy's spells can.

Enhanced Agility: Azure's small size has shown to help her out in complicated fights, making her agile and fast on her feet as well as allow her to perform acrobatics. She can dodge lots of slow attacks and jump very high in the air.

Enhanced Durability: Azure possess a high amount of physical resilience due to her training throughout the years and unbreakable spirit in battle. She can take a huge deal of damage and continue to move and try ignoring the pain.

Enhanced Endurance: She has a large amount of physical stamina, able to fight for a long period of time despite her fragile state. However, she tries not to use too much of her spells to reduce stamina since her spells each consider a large amount of Magic Power. She normally fights with her weapon and hand-to-hand combat, but will also use her Magic when she sees fit.

Enhanced Smell: Like all Dragon Slayers, Azure has a keen sense of smell, able to identify people by their scent. Most of them time, she normally uses her sense of smell for delicious sweets, much to her Exceed's annoyance.

Enhanced Hearing: As part of her Dragon Slayer senses, Azure can hear things far away, but not as good as more powerful Dragon Slayers.

Average Hand to Hand Combatant: In battle, Azure had knowledge over lots of martial arts techniques, mostly because she created all of them herself instead of proper training. She can also combine unarmed attacks with her Water Dragon Slayer Magic to make up for her small size, increase her blows, and even increase range. She's more stronger with close conbat using martial arts than with her swordsmanship skills. However, her skills at hand-to-hand combat are only above average, and not at a master's level.

Average Swordsmanship Skills: Azure can wield a dao sword, a type of single-edged sword used more for slashing than stabbing. She made up a lot of her techniques, making them imperfect and not as skilled as master swordsmen. Although she shows potential and skill in the sword, she's not a complete master and wasn't properly trained, since she taught herself how to use a sword.

Equipment: Sword and Magic Motorcycle

Dao Sword: Azure normally keeps her sword sheathed in its scabbard, like any other normal person would. Her dao sword is one of the lightest swords in the world, making it easier for her to wield it and perform multiple combos in battle.

Magic Motorcycle: Although unknown where she got it, Azure has kept a Magic Motorcycle for however long she's remembered. Her Magic Motorcycle is a type of Magic Vehicle with an SE-Plug, and she has enjoyed riding it numerous times. However, her motorcycle seems to be unstable a lot since Azure places a lot of Magic Power in it, resulting in her seeing an engineer worker about once or twice a week.

Family: Nereus (Adoptive father), Samuel (Adoptive younger brother)

Exceed partner: Samuel

Relationships; Nereus: Azure and her adopted father have a good relationship, but argue over stupid things like who gets to eat the bigger portion of fish for dinner. Azure is annoyed by Nereus perverted traits and wishes to someday beat him. They don't seem to hold grudges against each other and care for each other deeply. Even now, Azure wishes to find her father who went missing for the past 6 years so that she could reunite with him, as well as beat him up.

Samuel: Although they don't act like one, Azure and Samuel have a brotherly/sisterly bond. They were close when they were just babies, growing up together and understanding each other. She and Samuel get into pointless arguments which Azure mostly starts. Even though she was older than Samuel by one year, Samuel acts like he's more superior and older than Azure, seeing how more mature he is. Nevertheless, they both care for each other and can sync perfectly in battle together.

Bio: Nereus found her when she was just a newborn baby, so he took her under her wing. About a year later, little baby Azure met a newborn Samuel and became close to him. Azure and Samuel were taught how to write and read and many other things by Nereus, and Azure learned about the Fullbuster name and how both her parents were dead, and how her supposedly older brother, Gray, might be also. When Azure was 7, her father suddenly disappeared, leaving her to take care of Samuel and start exploring the world, and when she thought she was strong enough, she joined Fairy Tail, not caring if it was weak.

* * *

><p>Name: Nereus<p>

Gender: Male

Age: Unknown

Species: Dragon

Nicknames: The Water Dragon, old man (Named by Azure), pervy old bastard (Named by Azure.

Appearance: A large, four-legged Dragon with a turquoise-colored body. He also has fish scales all over his body, green colored eyes, a big jaw that shows his sharp teeth, and a long, large tail with scales and fins.

Personality: Unlike most Dragons, Nereus is actually much more carefree and lazy. He also doesn't seem interested in eating humans, or even bothering to see them as a threat. In fact, he wishes to see human potential since it interests him. He and Azure have a comical, yet close relationship to each other, and he dislikes cats a lot, but only kept Samuel due to Azure's request. He also seems to be a huge pervert and secretly reads porn magazines.

Children: Azure (Adoptive daughter) Samuel (Adopted son)

Relationships; Azure: When he saw her as a baby, he took pity upon her and took care of her. Nereus did seem to dislike it whenever Azure tried to throw away any of his porn magazines which he enjoyed so much, but both still cared for each other. When Azure was smart enough, he told her about adoption and handed her the letter that was written in Azure's supposedly dead mother's handwriting.

Samuel: When Azure was 1 years old, she was found playing with a large egg which Nereus wanted to eat. However, thanks to Azure's crying and unwilling to part with the egg, Nereus helped take care of the egg, surprised to see a baby Exceed. At first, Nereus was unsure whether or not to also teach his Magic to Samuel, but Samuel didn't want to due to wanting to train himself. Both seemed to be in good terms, though like Azure, Samuel disliked Nereus' perverted traits.

* * *

><p>Name: Samuel<p>

Gender: Male

Age: 12 (currently)

Species: Exceed

Nicknames: Sammy (By Pantherlily later on) Smarty (By Nereus)

Appearance: A small, anthropomorphous light blue cat with whiskers, and cat-like ears, like every Exceed should have. His attire is a Mitre with a church insignia on it, Gale-Force Reading Glasses, a red scarf, and a dark blue shirt.

Similar to Pantherlily, Samuel has a Battle Form that he can switch when in battle. In Battle Mode, he grows taller and much more muscular. His red scarf turns into a cap and he wears only white trouses, showing off his muscular chest. His glasses are placed on top of his Mitre so that they don't get damaged, and his ears and fuzzy whiskers grow longer.

Personality: Most of the time, he's calm, mature, and highly intelligent, always eagered to gather and collect new information. He likes making calculations and is very confident and arrogant in his knowledge. He also has a photographic memory and likes stating the obvious sometimes. In battle, he believes and takes any possible chance to win, but whenever his calculations are wrong, he goes hysterical and acts insane and confused for a while unless someone snaps him out of it. He is annoyed and impatient at Azure, but cares deeply for her and is closest to her the most.

Magic: Aera

Aera: Allows him to sprout angelic wings that can make him fly and carry things or people for a considerate amount of time, depending on his Magic Power.

Max Speed: Using his Magic Power, Samuel can increase his speed as fast as he can to dodge attack or to close in the enemy. However, he doesn't use this often due to the rapid loss of Magic Power.

Battle Mode Shift: He can change from his smaller, cute form to a much bigger and stronger one as long as he has Magic Power.

Claw Beam: In Battle Mode, he can increase his claw's length and shoow out purple lasers, though his claws length has a limit.

Enhanced Speed: Thanks to the power of the Max Speed spell, he can go as fast as possible as long as he uses a lot of Magic Power to do so. He is capable of being fast on his own, but not as fast as the Max Speed spell.

Enhanced Strength: In Battle Mode, he is very strong in physical strength, even physically stronger than Azure, something he secretly likes to boast about. He can lift up some boulders and throw some heavy punches.

Dragon Slayer Partner: Azure

Family: Nereus (Adopted father) Azure (Adopted older sister)

Relationships; Azure: While he and Azure may act like close friends, they actually have a close sibling bond together since they spent most of their lives together. Both are the opposite of each other, but have some similar traits. Althought Azure is 1 year older than him, Samuel acts much older than her, correcting her errors and explaining difficult things to her. He is also a bit protective to her, seeing how she's naive to the world and the dark natures. He tends to be annoyed a lot by Azure's cheerfulness and careless mistakes, not hesitating to call her an idiot.

Nereus: He and the Water Dragon seemed to have a good relationship, rarely arguing with one another. Nereus seemed to call him a 'Smarty' due to him being smart at a young age. Even though Samuel respects his adopted father, he's disgusted by a lot of his perverted hobbies and holds a small, personal grudge towards the dragon due to the dragon nearly eating him when he was just a baby.

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><p><strong>Alright, guess I'm finished with the OCs for now. It's only just one chapter of OCs profile, so it won't change a bit. Actually, Samuel wasn't really an OC, but I did place most of his true information here, but added a few things.<strong>

**The reason it's like this is because I wanted people to know about Azure, Samuel, and Nereus. In the anime version, Samuel was kinda a bad person, but seeing how no one was using him in the manga, I decided to make him Azure's Exceed partner to make things interesting.**

**To clear some things up, Azure was probably around 7 when Gray and the rest of the Tenrou team headed for the Tenrou Island thing and vanished for 7 years straight, and this fanfic takes place 6 years after the Tenrou team disappeared. So, that means Azure is 13 years old, but a year later, the 7th year, she'll be 14. In this story, Azure acts a lot like Yuuki outside of battle, if you see SAO II, but she acts like Sinon whenever she's in battle. Just a heads up!**

**As for Nereus, he's a lot like that Jade Dragon. Actually, I forgot his name, but it started with a 'Zen' something. Anyways, if they were to meet, and combined with Jade Dragon's power to make people, especially women, naked...Ugh...**

**Anyways, it'll be a while before I post the next chapter, so until then, read and review!**


	11. Curiosity Saves The Cat

**Including this chapter, there are two more chapters before the 6th GMG arc starts! Just wanted to let you guys know!**

**Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Fairy Tail, only the OCs! **

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><p>"Man! I can't believe I lost the map! Now it'll take me forever to get out of here! What have you done, Millianna?" complained a young woman with cat-like features. She was wearing bikini-like clothing that seemed to reveal a lot of her clothing, black gloves and shoes, and a dark cape to cover her revealing, curvaceous body.<p>

The woman talking to herself was Millianna, a member of one of the famous, female-only guilds, Mermaid Heel. She had finished her own solo mission and was trying to find the next town to sleep in, but apparently, she got lost in a huge forest and ended up fighting a variety of monsters as she tried to find an exit.

The huge forest was filled with huge, towering trees, and going through the evergreen forest and around the enormous tree roots was very difficult for Millianna. If she had a map of the forest, she'd be fine, but during one of her previous battles, one of the monsters gobbled up her only map, thus rendering her lost.

Even though it was still daytime, it was during the late afternoon, and if Millianna didn't get out of the forest in time, she'd have to spend the night in a monster-infested forest. Plus, she was fatigued and exhausted from using a lot of Magic Power to fight off the monsters, and if she continued, she would not only faint, but also lose all Magic Power.

Now, she was enduring yet another fight, but with two large monsters with brute strength. Millianna sharpened her claws as she focused both her mind and breathing, but even with her quick speed, she didn't have the physical strength to properly defend against huge monsters, at least, not in the state she was in.

Millianna was panting, dodging the slow brutal blows from the monsters with ease. Suddenly, the shrubs behind her began to shake slightly, and a shadow crashed into the grass with a banging sound. At this, the two monsters and Millianna froze to stare at the intruder.

"Owww... That really hurted!"

Rubbing her head, Azure slowly stood up on her own two feet, groaning in pain. She wiped away any dust and dirt on her clothing as she straightened herself and glance at the scene before crossing her arms in confusion. "Uh...what's going on?"

From the looks of it, it didn't seem that the boy that had just arrived didn't seem like a fighter to Millianna. Just what was some young kid like him doing here? Millianna examined his appearance once more and noticed he was just wearing ordinary male clothing with a sword attached to his side. Other than that, he looked like a frail, young person to her.

Not wanting for him to get hurt, Millianna cried out, "Get away! Quick! Run!"

"Hmm?" Noticing two of the large monsters Millianna was fighting, Azure figured that they were hurting her. "Oh! Monsters! Leave them to me!" Declaring that, Azure unsheathed her blade from her scabbard to prepare to fight.

"No, you idiot-!" Turning back to the enemies, Millianna gasped when she saw one of them try striking down with their large fists towards her and the kid. Anticipating this, both of them leaped up in time to avoid a shockwave throughout the ground beneath them before they landed safefully.

"Ooh! A fight! Hey, you don't mind if I slice these guys up, right?" Azure turned to Millianna, asking her with a mischievous-looking grin on her face.

"I don't care, but they're pretty tough!" panted Millianna, clutching her injured arm. "You can't handle them!"

"Nah! Don't underestimate me!"

Saying that, Azure charged towards the two monsters as they prepared for their offensive assault. She jumped over one of their fists and started running up one of the monster's arms, sprinting as fast as she could so she doesn't fall over and to deliver a decisive blow. As she was sprinting upwards, she tried to slash the monster's arm, but it was a lot thicker than it looked.

The monster tried to swipe at her with one arm, but Azure leaped off its arm and delivered at least four slashes to its chest before landing on the soft grass below. She swiftly weak, but multiple small slashes at the monster's naked legs before running away for some distance as the monster growled in pain.

Seeing the second monster trying to assault Azure, Millianna knew she couldn't just stand by and let her small savior get pummeled to the ground. So, she charged into the battlefield and mustered up strength to cast one of her spells.

"Nekósoku Tube!" One magical whip-like tube springed out of Millianna's Magic Seal, and soon divided into multiple tubes which were then used to tangle and bind the second monster so he couldn't move. Although she was struggling, Millianna managed to keep the second monster in place as Azure was handling the first monster.

After Azure saw the second monster being bound, she got an idea as she was being chased by the monster she was currently fighting. Once she got close to the second monster, she took advantage of its paralyzed body and started climbing upwards until she reached the shoulders.

Millianna saw the small boy on top of the tied-up monster's shoulders and shouted, "What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!"

Just as Azure expected, the other monster not bound charged towards the tied monster and threw a hard punch towards her. At the last moment, Azure leaped upwards as high as she could and heard the sound of a skull shattering before landing on the grass.

The young Mermaid Heel member stared in shock as the monster she had tied up had collapsed to the ground, its face messed up and blood oozing out of its nostrils and mouth. That boy had risked his life in order for the other monster to attack its own ally! Was that boy more crazy or what?!

Yelling out loud, Azure used her small stature to her advantage, charged straight at the last monster, and plunged her sword straight into its throat with all her strength. A disgusting, grotesque sound urked from the monster before it fell to its back, dead.

Millianna, who had spent an considerate amount of Magic Power even before Azure came along, sighed in relief. Her vision began to turn black and she felt her own body getting lighter and lighter. The last thing she saw before fainting was the boy rushing towards her with his arm reaching out for her.

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><p><em>Later... <em>

Yawning, Millianna used her hands to push herself off the grass and sat up, rubbing her tired eyes. She glanced around before realizing she was sitting in clean, dew-covered grass, and that there was a small river nearby. Sitting not too far away was the same boy who helped her defeat those monsters before.

Azure, who had been waiting for the cat-like lady to wake up, was forced to drag Millianna's body near the river while she was asleep so she could gather the water from the river to heal her wounds. Afterwards, Azure waited for the cat lady to wake up, but before she did, Azure did something nasty...

"Oh, hi there! Finally awake?"

Instantly, Millianna stood up, unsheathing her claws while staring intently at Azure with a death glare. Yelping, Azure hid behind a rock and peeked her head out, not knowing what she did wrong.

"Gah! What's wrong?! What did I do?!"

"Tell me what you did, RIGHT NOW, while I was ASLEEP, and you _MIGHT _live!"

"Gaaaah! Okay! Okay! I drew doodles all over your face!"

"...What?"

"I got out a black marker and drew doodles all over your face because I thought it was funny, and it was!"

"..."

Once she made her way towards the river, Millianna took a good look at her face and saw lots of harmless little doodles on her face. Some were small flowers, some were black circles, and others were just random. It didn't seem like the boy did any harm to her whatsoever.

"...And you're sure you didn't do anything else?"

"Huh?" Not sensing any anger coming from the cat lady, Azure stood from her spot and approached her. "Yeah, of course I didn't do anything else. Well, other than heal you. Why? Was...I supposed to do something else?"

Millianna seemed to be sputtering, unable to form words correctly. "Well-You could have-I mean-Never mind."

Crossing her arms, Azure tilted her head, more confused. "Huh? You're weird, cat lady." Then, she let out a lighthearted laugh. "But then again, I like weird! I'm Azure, by the way!"

"Oh, I'm Millianna. Wait, what happened? Why are you here? Are you lost?"

"Hmm...That's way too many questions, but I'll answer!" perked up Azure. "Well, I was lost in the forest, and I was trying to find my friend, Samuel! Oh, and I saw you getting attacked by those monsters, so I wanted to help you!"

"Then, why were you at the trees?" growled Millianna, remembering the small event before. If this boy was up at the tree and secretly following her, she'd show no mercy to him, even if he is some kid!

"Oh, I wanted to try finding my friend, so I climbed up trees and tried to see if I could find him! Speaking of which, have you seen someone else in the forest besides me?"

"No. The only things I've encountered are just monsters, but that's just it. How do you think your friend's holding up?"

"Hmm? Oh, knowing Samuel, I'm sure he'll be alright!"

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><p><em>Meanwhile... <em>

"AZURE! WHERE ARE YOU?! DAMNIT, I TURNED AROUND FOR ONE SECOND, AND YOU DISAPPEARED!"

Samuel, who was flying continuously in the air, called out for his partner for who knows how long. He and Azure were simply walking around the forest, trying to find a way out when Samuel desperately needed to use the bathroom.

The last thing he heard from Azure was her squealing about a cute bunny. It didn't take even a genius like him to quickly figure that Azure chased after the bunny and completely forgot about him.

So, the Exceed was flying around, trying to find his partner before anything worse happens. For all he could tell, Azure could start a forest war between two different kinds of animals! That happened once, but luckily, they were both weak kinds of animals, so dealing with them didn't take long.

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><p>"...You chased a bunny, and it made you lose your friend out from plain sight?"<p>

"Yup! That's about it!"

Millianna shook her head, wondering whether or not to admire Azure's honesty, however stupid it was, or just to call her a plain idiot. "Hey, do you know the way out of this forest?"

"No, but Samuel has the map, so if we can find him, he should be able to lead us out!"

The Mermaid Heel Mage groaned, suffering a major headache. Great, not only did she have low Magic Power, but she's stuck here even further. On the bright side, she does have a temporary ally to accompany with until they get out of this mess. An extremely strong one at that.

"Alright, then how about we team up for a little bit until we find your friend and get out of here?" suggested Millianna, seeing how there was no other choice.

"Yeah! Yeah! Okay! I'll be looking forward to working with you, cat lady!" agreed Azure, offering her hand.

"Er...right." Not used to shaking hands with unfamiliar people, Millianna declined shaking her hand. "By the way, I'm from a guild named Mermaid Heel. Ever heard of it?"

"Um...Mermaids wear shoes?"

Millianna was so amazed how dumb the boy really was. "No. It's a famous-"

"Oh wait! Sorry! It's that all-girls guild, right?"

_'Well, at least he remembered at the last second,' _Millianna thought to herself. "Yeah, you're right. Kagura-chan's the strongest in the guild! But I'm pretty strong too!"

"Hey! I'm strong too! Maybe the strongest in all of Fairy Tail!"

Surprised, Millianna stared down at the boy. "Wait, you're from Fairy Tail? Huh, you're a bit far from that guild aren't ya?"

"Well, me and Samuel just got back from a mission, so we were heading home and we heard the forest was a shortcut. What about you, Millianna?"

"I was trying to find a shortcut too, but I...ended up being lost." Millianna's head dropped, shameful of herself for making such a bad decision without thinking of the consequences.

"Ha ha!" Not insulting her, Azure patted Millianna's head gently, comforting her. "Don't worry! I was lost too, so that makes us equal!" Noticing Millianna's messy hair resembled cat ears in a way, the young Fairy Tail wizard grabbed the lookalike cat ears and pulled on them out of curiosity.

"YWOOOOOWWWWW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"Gah! Sorry!"

"DO THAT AGAIN AND I'LL SCRATCH YOUR EYES OUT!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Sighing, Millianna sheathed her claws and crossed her arms, making somewhat a pouty face as she turned away from Azure. "...By the way, thanks."

"Huh? For what?"

"You know, for saving me back there. I was low on Magic Power and would probably be finished off if you haven't saved me. So, thanks. BUT!" Millianna faced Azure, leaning close to her face with a threatening look on her face. "Even though I owe you, don't expect your reward to be anything big or perverted!"

"Reward, huh?" Stepping back for more space, Azure crossed her arms and was lost in thought. "Hmm...if I wanted a reward...Well, it's like those heroic shining knights in armor moments, right? Like, the hero knight saves the princess and all." With a grin, she teasingly joked, "Well, you could wrap your arms around me! Haha!"

"O-Oh piss off, loser!" hissed Millianna, giving Azure a more scary death glare as Azure giggled to herself. "L-let's just get out of here!"

"Ok, Princess Millianna-chan!"

Azure's teasing soon screeched to a halt when Millianna shoved her sharpened claws _very _close to her face. The tomboy gulped and sweat began to form all over her forehead.

"Say that to me again, and you'll totally regret it! I don't like perverted guys, especially innocent-looking guys like you!"

"Y-yes ma'am..."

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><p><em>With Samuel... <em>

_'Maybe the fish is fully cooked now,' _thought Samuel as he started walking back to his small campsite for lunch. Before, he had caught a few fishes on his own and placed them over the fire to cook them as he tried to find fresh water instead of the salty river water he found.

However, when he got back, he never expected to see a couple of tiger-like monsters wolfing down on HIS catch of fish. In fact, that just enraged Samuel more.

Pushing his glasses up, Samuel slowly approached them with a dark aura surrounding him. "You...You just ate my lunch. Prepare to _die." _

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><p><em>Much, much later... <em>

"Hmm? What are these?" wondered Azure, picking up small, tattered bags after she and Millianna defeated some monsters who happened to have them.

Picking one up, Millianna peeked inside one of them before her expression changed into a pained and sorrowful one. "Oh...Azure, it's kinda hard for me to say this, but...I think these belong to travelers who were...killed in the forest."

It took only a few seconds for Azure to realize what the Mermaid Heel mage meant. According to Samuel, lots of Mages and travelers lose their lives in accidents, missions, and other dangerous situations, and this one was no different. Those bags probably belonged to other Mages, who supposedly died by the hands of the monsters in the forest or something.

Azure was snapped out of her lonely thoughts when she heard some things drop to the ground and saw Millianna dumping all the things in the unowned bags towards the ground. "Uh...what are you doing?"

"Well, I figured since the owners are...long gone, they won't need their supplies anymore. We might need whatever they have anyways."

There wasn't much in the bags but a few crumbs, some bandages, scrap pieces of paper, and some weird red candy canes that Millianna has never seen before. Curious, Azure sat down on the ground and placed one of the candy canes into her mouth, startling Millianna.

"Hey! Don't just put weird stuff into your mouth! It could be poisonous!"

"Hmm? But it tastes good!"

"Wait, really?" Seeing how Azure was perfectly in good condition after eating the weird candy cane, Millianna picked one up and also placed it in her mouth before started to lick it like a lollipop.

It didn't take long for Millianna to take in the spicy, hot taste.

Millianna cried out from the spicy taste, spitting out the small contents of the candy she tried to swallow before coughing and pounding her own stomach. "Gah! That was spicy! How could you like something like that?!"

"Hmm? But it didn't seem all that spicy to me," replied Azure before bitting down on her candy cane. "Hey, if you don't want your candy cane, could I have it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead." Tossing her the candy cane, Millianna couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Azure eating cutely like a hamster. She had to admit, Azure did look cute for a boy.

As the two of them continued exploring, they began telling stories to one another about their adventures or any silly situations they've gotten themselves into. Millianna often bragged about her being the strongest in some of her stories, and one of them happened to be when she fought a giant monster all by herself without the help of her friend, Kagura. One of Azure's stories included how she and her friend Samuel chased after a toad monster because it stoled Samuel's glasses and they ended up in a mud pile in the end. Both their stories were humorous, adventurous, and a bit of the serious note, but still fun.

"Oh! Oh! And there was this one time when I first discovered my old man's secret stash of porn magazines!" said Azure, continuing with her next story.

"Wait, wait, PORN?!" exclaimed Millianna, her eyes wide. "And, 'old man?'"

"Yup! My Dad, Nereus! He's a bit of a pervert, but he's nice!" Winking at the cat-like lady, Azure asked, "Wanna hear the story? It's super funny!"

"A-As long as it isn't inappropriate..."

"Good! Good! Now, let's see..."

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><p><em>Azure's flashback...<em>

_"Stupid old man!" grumbled 6 year-old Azure, going through Nereus' things. "He got me good in training, but next time, I'll be prepared!"_

_Apparently, about an hour ago, Azure and Nereus were in one of their countless training duels they had almost every day. Azure was sure she was much stronger this time, but Nereus not only beat her, but drenched her with so much water, it would be enough to fill a huge bucket._

_"Azure...we'll get in trouble..." whined 5-year old Samuel, peeking around to see where Nereus might be. Back then, he used to be a shy individual who loved studying and tries avoiding trouble, especially with his adoptive father, Nereus._

_"Samuel, he just left! There's no way he could be back in time! Besides, I just need one more minute here!"_

_"But, Azure!"_

_"Hey, what's this?" Picking up a small pile of magazines, Azure dumped them to the ground and started flipping the pages of one of the magazines, seeing various pictures of women that showed off a lot of revealing skin._

_"That's...a lot of women," commented Samuel, his nose starting to trickle down blood. As they were reading, they didn't noticed Nereus sneaking up behind them._

_"Hey! What are you two doing?!"_

_"Gaaaaahhh!" both little kids screamed, dropping the strange magazines they found._

_"Is...is that my collection of porn magazines?!"_

_"She did it!"/"He did it!" Both Samuel and Azure childishly blamed the other, pointing fingers at each other._

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><p>"And then as punishment for sneaking into his stuff, he made the next few days of training extremely hard. Like, he would force me and Samuel to keep swimming for three hours, and have us climb cliffs! If we tried to cheat, he would try to bite our fingers off!"<p>

_'HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!' _Thought Millianna, a bit frightened over what sort of person Nereus was.

"Azure! Azure! Where are you?!" A loud voice echoed throughout the forest, and Azure knew full well who that voice belonged to.

"Ooh! It's Samuel! Samuel! I'm over here! I'm okay!"

Hearing his adoptive sister/friend's voice, it took no time for Samuel to quickly pinpoint her location. "There you are!" he scolded, walking up in front of her. "You've got a lot of nerve, trying to-"

"KYAAAA! KITTY-CAT!~" squealed Millianna. In a flash, she scooped up the small Exceed and embraced him so tightly, his face met with her chest. His cries were muffled as he struggled to get away from this female stranger.

Azure laughed at Samuel's futile efforts to escape. "Wow, looks like you were a cat fan after all, Millianna!"

When Millianna finally had her fun, she released Samuel, who fell to the ground, panting for breath. "W-what...*pant* is going *pant* on?!"

After Azure and Millianna, who introduced herself, explained what had happened between them, Samuel began his side of the story of trying to search for Azure. After a brief scolding to Azure from Samuel, and properly thanking Millianna, and later getting yet another death-embracing hug from her, the trio set out to get out of the forest.

By the time they got out, it was already nightfall, but several stores and restraunts were still open for business. Millianna, Azure, and Samuel's stomachs growled, seeing how they've eaten nothing for hours.

"How about we eat at that place over there?" suggested Millianna, pointing to a nearby shop. "I'll pay, of course, as thanks for helping me out."

"Yay! Of course!" agreed Azure, skipping ahead of Millianna with her arms carrying Samuel as the two of them entered the restaurant.

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><p><strong>Finished just in time before Christmas ended! Think of this as a Christmas chapter present gift thing for you viewers! I know it's not much action in there, but yeah, I couldn't think of any other means to interact with Millianna.<strong>

**Just to clear some things up, no, Millianna doesn't know Azure's a girl because Azure never actually revealed it or told her. Don't worry, I'll have Millianna know she's a girl later on. And besides, the two girls and Samuel were in the forest for a long time, so they would need to interact with each other to avoid trouble from the monsters and out of boredom.**

**So, that's all! Two more chapters until the 6th GMG! Read and review!**


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